Russia Launches Massive Nuclear Exercise Amid Soaring Tensions with the West
Tensions between Russia and the West have reached a boiling point, with the latest development being a massive nuclear exercise launched by Russia on Tuesday. The exercise, which involved a simulated nuclear response to an enemy first strike, saw missiles being test-fired over thousands of kilometers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of having modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use, citing the growth of geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new external threats and risks. “Given the growth of geopolitical tensions, the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use,” Putin said.
However, Putin was quick to assure that Russia is not looking to engage in a new arms race, saying “I emphasize that we are not going to get involved in a new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear forces at the necessary level of sufficiency.”
The exercise, which involved Russia’s full nuclear range of ground-, sea-, and air-launched missiles, saw the military test-firing a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Additionally, the Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarines test-fired ICBMs from the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, while nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bombers carried out practice launches of long-range cruise missiles. The Defence Ministry confirmed that all the missiles reached their designated targets.
The nuclear exercise comes on the back of weeks of signals from Moscow to the West that it would respond if the United States and its allies allowed Kyiv to fire longer-range missiles deep into Russia. Putin reinforced this message by announcing a new version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which states that Moscow considers a conventional attack by a non-nuclear nation that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack on the country.
The revised doctrine also envisages the possible use of nuclear weapons in the case of a massive air attack, serving as a clear warning to the US and other allies of Kyiv. The move is seen as an attempt by Russia to deter the West from escalating the conflict in Ukraine, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in the coming days.
