Moscow Says Russia Is Simulating A ‘Massive Nuclear Attack’ In Response To An Enemy Attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched a large-scale exercise of the country’s nuclear forces, including missile launches to simulate retaliatory strikes, as he continued to show off the country’s nuclear power as tensions between Ukraine and the West escalate.
In a video call with military commanders, Putin said the exercise would simulate the use of nuclear weapons by senior officials, including the launch of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said the purpose of the exercise was to practice “a large-scale nuclear attack by strategic offensive forces in response to an enemy nuclear attack.”
Putin, who has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword as he tries to prevent the West from increasing support for Ukraine, stressed on Tuesday that Russia’s nuclear arsenal remains a “reliable guarantee of national sovereignty and security.”
“Given the growing geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new threats and risks, it is very important for us to have modern strategic forces that are ready for battle at any time,” he said, reiterating that Russia believes the use of nuclear weapons is the most important means. “The optimal solution.” “The right action is extreme and final to ensure their safety.”
Putin noted that Moscow would continue to modernize its nuclear forces, deploying new missiles with higher accuracy, faster launch times, and greater ability to penetrate missile defences.
The Defense Ministry said the military test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula as part of Tuesday’s exercises. The Novomoskovsk and Oleg-Sahib nuclear submarines test-fired ICBMs from the Barents and Okhotsk Seas, while nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bombers test-fired long-range cruise missiles.
The Defense Ministry said all missiles hit designated targets.
Last month, the Russian president warned the United States and NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to launch attacks on Russian territory using long-range weapons provided by the West would put NATO at war with Russia.
He reinforced that message by announcing a new version of the nuclear doctrine that considers a conventional attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state backed by nuclear forces to be a joint attack on Russia, a clear warning to the United States and other allies of Kyiv.
Putin also said the revised document provides for the possible use of nuclear weapons in the event of a large-scale airstrike, leaving the door open to a possible nuclear response to any airstrike, an ambiguous statement aimed at deterring the West.
Tuesday’s drills follow a series of other exercises by Russian nuclear forces.
Earlier this year, the Russian military conducted joint nuclear exercises with Moscow’s ally Belarus, which hosts some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.
In March 2023, Putin said he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine’s neighbour Belarus following Britain’s decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium armour-piercing missiles. The country’s president, a close ally of Putin, then claimed, without providing any evidence, that the Russian nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus were “three times more powerful” than those used by the United States against Japan in World War II.
Also, in March 2023, Putin said Russia’s nuclear triad – a three-pronged arsenal of land, sea and air – was “more advanced” than the United States.
“Our triad, the nuclear triad, is more modern than any other triad,” Putin said in an interview with state television. “Only we and the Americans have such a triad. We have made greater progress in this regard.”
