Russia Vs NATO: Putin's threat neutralized, NATO will conduct nuclear exercise

NATO will start its annual nuclear exercise this coming Monday. This was said by the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, on Thursday amidst sharp rhetoric on the nuclear issue by Russian President Vladimir Putin. NATO officials again assured the public that aircraft slated to participate in the Steadfast Noon Exercise organized by Belgium and the Netherlands, composed of 60 aircraft from 13 countries alone, would include F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers.

About 2,000 military personnel taking part in the exercise in the 'North Sea Region' will practice sorties in which warplanes transport US nuclear weapons. Officials of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance say the exercise begins on Monday and will last about two weeks.

In comments last month, Putin specified a scenario in which Russia might respond with nuclear weapons if it were subjected to a conventional missile strike and said Moscow would treat any attack on it, or an ally, by a state armed with atomic weapons as a nuclear attack. NATO officials downplayed the significance of the exercises, pointing out that they did not represent a response to recent Moscow announcements and that the maneuvers have been conducted annually for more than a decade.