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Russia Says It Starts Nuclear Military Drills

This video grab from a handout footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on May 21, 2024 shows Russia's missile forces holding a tactical nuclear weapons drills in the southern military district of the country. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
This video grab from a handout footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on May 21, 2024 shows Russia's missile forces holding a tactical nuclear weapons drills in the southern military district of the country. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
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Russia Says It Starts Nuclear Military Drills

This video grab from a handout footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on May 21, 2024 shows Russia's missile forces holding a tactical nuclear weapons drills in the southern military district of the country. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
This video grab from a handout footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on May 21, 2024 shows Russia's missile forces holding a tactical nuclear weapons drills in the southern military district of the country. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)

Russian forces have started the first stage of military drills "involving practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons" in the Southern Military District, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin gave an order earlier this month for the drills to be held.

The ministry said the first stage of the exercise involved Iskander and Kinzhal missiles.

The exercise is aimed at ensuring units and equipment are ready for "the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons to respond and unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation", the ministry said.

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Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
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Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)

Traffic on France's TGV high-speed trains was gradually returning to normal on Saturday after engineers worked overnight repairing sabotaged signal stations and cables that caused travel chaos on Friday, the opening day of the Paris Olympic Games.

In Friday's pre-dawn attacks on the high-speed rail network vandals damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled, French rail operator SNCF said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

"On the Eastern high-speed line, traffic resumed normally this morning at 6:30 a.m. while on the North, Brittany and South-West high-speed lines, 7 out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of 1 to 2 hours," SNCF said in a statement on Saturday morning.

"At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns," it added.

SNCF reiterated that transport plans for teams competing in the Olympics would be guaranteed.