Ben Wallace slams Emmanuel Macron for ‘showing his hand’ by saying he WILL NOT use nukes

defense minister Ben Wallace he scolded Emmanuel Macron after the French president ruled out launching a nuclear attack on Russia.

The UK Secretary of State for Defense said Mr Macron had revealed his hand by confirming that if Vladimir Putin then it goes nuclear in Ukraine France would not repay in kind.

Tensions are rising that Russia’s president could authorize a nuclear attack while his illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to lag, though The Kremlin has denied that it plans to use its arsenal.

In recent weeks, NATO allies have repeatedly warned that the consequences for Russia would be dire if it were to carry out such an attack, although the precise nature of these has been deliberately left ambiguous.

And those threats will be high on Putin’s mind when nuclear bombers take off from bases in Britain next week in an exercise to simulate a nuclear attack on his country.

In next week’s nuclear preparedness drills, dozens of aircraft from NATO allies will be raised as part of the exercise and in a joint show of force.

However, a gap appeared in that united front yesterday when Mr Macron appeared to rule out using his country’s nuclear arsenal in the event of a Putin attack, fearing it would spark “global war”.

Speaking to state television France 2, he said: “Our doctrine is based on the fundamental interests of the nation. They are clearly defined and would not be directly affected at all if, for example, there was a ballistic nuclear attack in Ukraine.”

Asked about the French president’s comments at yesterday’s NATO meeting in Brussels, Mr Wallace said that “reveals President Macron’s hand’.

He added: “Our view is that there would be serious consequences for Russia if it were to use nuclear weapons. That would mean breaking the 1945 taboo on the use of nuclear weapons. And that would make him incredibly isolated globally.”

The Telegraph citing NATO sources as saying Macron’s words could jeopardize the “principles of deterrence” and that he should not “talk publicly” about it.

A day earlier, a senior NATO source said Russia would “almost certainly receive a physical response from many allies and potentially NATO itself” if it attacked.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added that the use of nuclear weapons would have “severe consequences” but declined to give any details on a possible NATO response.

Stoltenberg warned Moscow of “severe consequences” if any nuclear weapons were used against Ukraine, but declined to give any details on a possible NATO response.

The NATO commander said that a nuclear attack would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict and mark the crossing of a very important line.

“Even the use of smaller nuclear weapons will be a very serious matter and will significantly change the nature of the war in Ukraine,” he warned.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned in a speech in Bruges that any nuclear attack on Ukraine would create a response, not a nuclear response, but a military response so strong that the Russian army would be destroyed, and Putin should not bluff. .’

Like Mr Stoltenberg, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to speculate on how Nato might respond to a nuclear attack, calling Russian threats “reckless” and “irresponsible”.

“Looking at the indications and warnings, I don’t see any need to change what we’re doing right now,” he told a news conference.

It comes as dozens of RAF and US Air Force jets have traveled to Europe in preparation for NATO exercises to simulate nuclear attacks on Russia.

The drills, codenamed ‘Steadfast Noon’, will take place next week and will see 60 aircraft from 14 NATO countries take off to simulate a nuclear attack on Putin.

Among the aircraft taking part will be F-15 Eagles based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which can carry nuclear weapons, as well as B-52s flown in from the US.

The annual exercise, which does not involve live bombs, will see the RAF Typhoon play the role of Russian MiG jets to simulate Putin’s defence, The sun reports.

The drills were planned before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February, and U.S. officials say they have been held regularly at this time of year for more than a decade.

Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that canceling the drills because of the war in Ukraine would send “a very wrong signal”.

Most of the simulations will take place more than 1,000 km (625 miles) from Russia, a US defense official said.

“While we will continue with routine activities to maintain our (nuclear) deterrent, there will be no specific announcements regarding our exercises,” a US defense official said.

“We believe that playing around with nuclear weapons is reckless and irresponsible. Russia may decide to play this game, but we won’t.”

The exercise comes as Russia prepares to host its annual Grom exercise, which usually takes place in late October and tests its nuclear bombers, submarines and missiles.

Stoltenberg said NATO would monitor Russia’s annual nuclear drills very closely, as it has done for decades, and remain vigilant, “not least in light of the veiled nuclear threats and dangerous rhetoric we have witnessed from the Russian side.”