- Russia on Monday said it would soon hold military exercises that included practice for the preparation and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, blaming "provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials." Al Jazeera (LR: 2 CP: 1)
- Though Russia's nuclear forces regularly hold exercises with such weapons — intended for battlefield use and are not as powerful as conventional nuclear warheads — it was the first time that Russia publicly announced plans to hold such drills. ABC News
- The move comes after French Pres. Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Minister David Cameron made remarks late last week that the Kremlin condemned as "dangerous" and described as an escalation of the conflict with Ukraine. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Macron once again did not rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine. Cameron, for his part, said that Ukraine was able to use British-provided weapons to fire into Russian territory. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Commenting further on the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Deploying NATO soldiers to confront the Russian military in the latest escalation of tensions is an unprecedented move. And, of course, it requires special attention and special measures." TASS (a)
- On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry further announced that it had summoned Britain's ambassador to Moscow Nigel Casey for a meeting. TASS (b)
Pro-establishment narrative:
- Russia is once again threatening the West with nuclear weapons. Putin did a similar thing when Britain said it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium. This is the Kremlin's playbook for seeking to scare its enemies into obsequience.
ABC NEWS
Pro-Russia narrative:
- Despite Russia's warnings, the West continues to escalate the conflict by suggesting that NATO troops will be stationed in Ukraine, and by allowing it to strike in Russian territory — hundreds of miles from where the conflict is taking place. Russia had no choice but to respond to these Western provocations.
TASS
Nerd narrative:
- There is an 12% chance that there will be a global thermonuclear war by 2070, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)