MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a large-scale readiness drill of the country’s strategic nuclear forces, testing land, sea, and air components of its deterrent.
The exercises, described as “routine” by the Kremlin, occurred at a time of escalating US-Russia tensions, marked by new sanctions from Washington, stalled diplomatic engagement between the two leaders, and growing uncertainty over the future of the New START nuclear arms limitation treaty.
“Today, we are conducting a planned – I want to emphasize, planned – nuclear forces command and control exercise,” Putin said in a video conference with the top military brass on Wednesday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated that the drills involved all three components of the nuclear triad: land, sea, and air.
Videos shared by the state-owned military TV channel Zvezda showed the launch of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia’s north and a Sineva ballistic missile fired from the Bryansk nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea.
Tu-95MS long-range bombers also fired air-launched cruise missiles, the defense ministry said. The Kremlin said the drills tested the readiness of military command-and-control systems and the operational skills of the staff, adding that all objectives were met.
Russia holds routine readiness exercises as part of its nuclear deterrent. During a similar exercise last October, Putin said Russia’s nuclear arsenal “enables us to achieve strategic deterrence objectives and uphold nuclear parity and the balance of power globally.”
The following month, President Putin revised Russia’s nuclear doctrine, just two days after then-U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russian territory using American-made weapons. On Wednesday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister referred to the New START treaty — the 2011 arms control agreement under which Washington and Moscow committed to limiting their deployed strategic nuclear arsenals.
Under the treaty, both countries had seven years to meet defined limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons they can have. It is due to expire in February 2026.
“If the US rejects the New START proposal, there will be a total vacuum in the area of nuclear weapons limitations and a growing nuclear threat,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to state media RIA Novosti.
“Russia must be convinced of the US administration’s sustainability in abandoning its hostile course,” the outlet cited Ryabkov as saying.
The Russian comments on the US come as plans for a meeting between Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump have stalled, with multiple officials telling CNN that an expected diplomatic engagement in Budapest, Hungary, is no longer happening — at least for the time being.
Trump said Tuesday he didn’t want the meeting to be “a waste of time.” He may still meet with the Russian leader, he implied, but he indicated it was no longer a top priority.
The Russian drills also come just over a week after NATO held its own nuclear deterrence exercise. In a statement, the alliance said that the drill was “not linked to any current world events.”
Around 70 aircraft from 14 allied nations took part in the exercise, the statement said, operating out of airbases in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the exercise was carried out “because it helps us make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, safe, secure, and effective as possible.”
