NATO countries, nuclear strike drills. Steadfast Noon

russian media: "The North Atlantic Alliance has launched nuclear strike exercises, which will continue until October 23. Military personnel from 17 nations and over 70 aircraft—including F-35 fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft, and refueling tankers—are participating in the maneuvers". In reality, this refers to "Steadfast Noon," NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise, which has been held for decades and is publicly announced well in advance.

NATO describes the 2026 exercise as a long-planned, routine activity hosted by Italy and involving 17 participating nations: https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/articles/news/2026/10/08/nato-holds-annual-nuclear-exercise-steadfast-noon. The Alliance emphasizes that no live weapons are used during the exercise. These activities are not directed against any specific country, nor are they linked to current global events. NATO is a defensive alliance, and such exercises help maintain peace and deter aggression.
During the exercise, procedures for safety, readiness, and command are practiced using inert training weapons—which lack warheads—while the actual use of weaponry is merely simulated. Under NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangements, U.S. nuclear weapons remain under American control (https://fas.org/publication/steadfast-noon-exercise-and-nuclear-modernization/), while allied crews train for potential delivery missions. This is fundamentally different from "practicing nuclear strikes," which would entail the use of live, operational weapons.
Characterizing NATO’s official, publicly announced training missions as an "act of aggression" is a deliberate piece of disinformation by the kremlin — a tactic it employs whenever such events occur. russian propaganda consistently portrays this defensive alliance as an aggressive entity planning offensive operations; yet, in the entire history of the Alliance, no such thing has ever taken place. Thus, moscow is merely making a clumsy attempt to justify its own aggression and "hybrid war" against the Alliance.
Based on materials from Spravdi.ua
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