Putin Oversees Russian Nuclear Readiness Drills

By Staff, Agencies

Russia’s strategic nuclear forces carried out a readiness test supervised by the country’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

“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.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said 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 is conducting routine nuclear readiness exercises to maintain strategic deterrence, with Putin recently reaffirming their role in global power balance. In response to Ukraine’s increased strike capabilities, Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine last November.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister highlighted the New START treaty, under which the US and Russia agreed to limit deployed nuclear arms by 2018; the treaty expires in February 2026.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned, “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.”

“Russia must be convinced of the US administration’s sustainability in abandoning its hostile course,” the outlet cited Ryabkov as saying.

Plans for a Putin-Trump meeting in Budapest have stalled, with officials confirming the diplomatic event is postponed for now.

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 called Steadfast Noon.

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.”