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<address><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steadfast_Noon">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steadfast_Noon</a></address>
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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"><a
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href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/steadfast-noon-nato-plans-nuclear-exercise-despite-russia-s-warnings-all-you-need-to-know-11665503956862.html">livemint.com</a></div>
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<h1 class="reader-title">‘Steadfast Noon’: NATO plans nuclear
exercise despite Russia's warnings.</h1>
<h1 class="reader-title">Livemint</h1>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">4-5 minutes</div>
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<p> The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members are liekly
to push and conduct a long-planned nuclear exercise next week,
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. This move
comes despite rising tensions over the war in Ukraine and
President Vladimir Putin's insistence that he is not bluffing
about using all available means to defend Russian territory.</p>
<p> The official statement said that the exercise has been dubbed <a
target="_blank"
href="https://www.livemint.com/news/final-stage-of-reign-but-still-has-room-for-zelensky-on-vladimir-putin-as-russia-steps-up-war-ukraine-11665501703138.html">'Steadfast
Noon'</a>. This will be held annually and will continue for
about a week. </p>
<h2><strong>About ‘Steadfast Noon’</strong></h2>
<p>It involves fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads but
does not involve any live bombs. Conventional jets, and
surveillance and refuelling aircraft also routinely take part.</p>
<p> Fourteen of the 30 NATO member countries will be involved in the
exercise, which was planned before Russia invaded<a
target="_blank"
href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/indiauae-exploring-mechanism-to-carry-out-bilateral-trade-in-national-currencies-11665501137682.html">
Ukraine </a>in February.</p>
<p> The main part of the maneuvers would be held more than 1,000
kilometers from Russia, a NATO official said.</p>
<h2>Impact on Russia-Ukraine war</h2>
<p>“It would send a very wrong signal if we suddenly now cancelled a
routine, long-time planned exercise because of the war in Ukraine.
That would be absolutely the wrong signal to send," Stoltenberg
told reporters on the eve of a meeting of NATO defense ministers
in Brussels.</p>
<p> “NATO's firm, predictable behaviour, our military strength, is
the best way to prevent escalation," he said. “If we now created
the grounds for any misunderstandings, miscalculations in Moscow
about our willingness to protect and defend all allies, we would
increase the risk of escalation."</p>
<p> With the Russian army retreating under the blows of Ukrainian
forces armed with Western weapons, Putin raised the stakes by
annexing four Ukrainian regions and declaring a partial
mobilisation of up to 300,000 reservists to buttress the crumbling
front line.</p>
<p> As his war plans have gone awry, Putin has repeatedly signalled
that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian
gains.</p>
<p> The threat is also aimed at deterring NATO nations from sending
more sophisticated weapons to Ukraine.</p>
<h2>Nuclear weapons with NATO</h2>
<p>It is to be noted that NATO as an organisation does not possess
any weapons. The nuclear weapons nominally linked to <a
target="_blank"
href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/imf-cuts-2023-global-growth-warns-major-economies-to-stall-11665496829204.html">NATO
</a>remain under the firm control of three member countries — the
US, UK and France. The alliance's secretive Nuclear Planning Group
will meet on Thursday among defense ministers.</p>
<p> Stoltenberg described Putin's spiraling nuclear rhetoric as
“dangerous and reckless," and underlined that the allies “have
also conveyed clearly to Russia that it will have severe
consequences if they use nuclear weapons in any way."</p>
<p> "We are closely monitoring Russia's nuclear forces," Stoltenberg
said. “We have not seen any changes in Russia's posture, but we
remain vigilant."</p>
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