Russia announced on Monday that its troops stationed near Ukraine would run nuclear weapons drills and threatened to strike UK military targets outside the embattled country, citing what it said was an escalation in Western sabre-rattling.

The defence ministry announced the drills and also said Russian forces had captured two villages in eastern Ukraine, where outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian troops have been struggling to hold their positions.

Officials in the border region of Belgorod meanwhile said that Ukrainian aerial attacks had left at least seven people dead and wounded over 30, including several children.

Putin, who ordered the nuclear drills, has upped his nuclear rhetoric since ordering his army into Ukraine in 2022, warning in February there was a "real" risk of nuclear war.

The defence ministry gave no date for the exercises, but said they would involve the air force, navy and troops stationed near Ukraine.

It said they were aimed at ensuring Russian territorial integrity in the face of Western "threats."

The Kremlin specified that the exercises were a response to statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and British officials.

Russia has in recent days hit out at Macron for telling The Economist magazine he was "not ruling anything out" in the West's response to the conflict in Ukraine, including sending troops to the country.

It has also blasted UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron for saying Kyiv has the right to strike targets inside Russia. (AFP)