Putin's false Nato nuclear test claim as he runs drills

RUSSIANS were falsely warned yesterday that Nato is practising nuclear strikes and other military action against them.

- Mark Reynolds

As Kremlin chiefs again taunted opponents with fresh footage of their own battlefield nuclear drills, they used state TV to spell out a supposed threat from the West.

Moscow ramped up its rhetoric, alleging to its citizens that Nato was rehearsing pre-emptive nuclear strikes.

General Vladimir Kulishov, deputy director of its FSB counter-intelligence service and head of Russia's Border Guards, backed President Vladimir Putin's earlier claims of supposed threats from the West.

He said: "In the vicinity of the Russian border, there is an increase in Nato reconnaissance activities and an intensification of operational and combat training events.