The planned exercise of France and Poland in the Baltic includes the participation of Rafale fighters "equipped with nuclear warheads", Wirtualna Polska quoted many sources as saying.
According to the news, the exercise may take place in the near future, with locations in the Baltic Sea and northern Poland. The Polish Air Force is also expected to participate. The tasks of the Polish Air Force include detecting targets and practicing attacks with conventional weapons, mainly JASSM-ER cruise missiles manufactured by the US.
The report emphasized that France has no plans to deploy long-term fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons in Poland. Sources in the newspaper also noted the response scenarios that Paris and Warsaw are building in the face of a possible attack that does not require consultation within the framework of NATO under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Previously, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had not discussed holding joint nuclear exercises. According to him, cooperation on nuclear deterrence between the two countries has not reached the level reported by the media.
Commenting on this information, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such plans show that Europe is moving towards increasing militarization and nuclearization.
