Russia’s Putin launches drill of nuclear forces simulating strikes
Al Jazeera
The exercise involved Russia’s full nuclear “triad” of ground-, sea- and air-launched missiles
Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched an exercise of the country’s nuclear forces featuring missile launches in a simulation of a retaliatory strike amid soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.
“Given the growing geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern and constantly ready-to-use strategic forces,” Putin said on Tuesday as he announced the exercise.
In televised comments, Minister of Defence Andrei Belousov told Putin that the purpose of the drill was to practise delivering “a massive nuclear strike by strategic offensive forces in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy”.
The exercise involved Russia’s full nuclear “triad” of ground, sea, and air-launched missiles.
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia to Kamchatka, a peninsula in the Far East. Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles were fired from submarines, and cruise missiles were launched from strategic bomber planes, the defence ministry said.
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