Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today the launch of a strategic nuclear deterrence exercise, involving missiles from sea, land, and air. Speaking on a video call with military leaders, Putin said that the drills will simulate top officials’ action in using nuclear weapons. He declared “nuclear triad remains a solid pillar of our country’s sovereignty and security,” and that “It enables us to achieve strategic deterrence objectives and uphold nuclear parity and the balance of power globally, which are key factors underpinning global stability.”
The Ministry of Defense said that, as part of today’s drills, the military test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. As RT quoted the Defense Ministry statement: “Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles were launched from the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Novomoskovsk in the Barents Sea and from the nuclear-powered submarine Knyaz Oleg in the Sea of Okhotsk. Tu-95MS long-range aircraft were also involved in the exercise, launching cruise missiles.” They stated that all objectives were “completed in full, all missiles reached their targets.”
Otherwise, as his statement is posted to the Presidential website, Putin addressed plans for nuclear readiness, saying: “In light of escalating geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is imperative for us to have modern strategic forces that are in a state of constant combat readiness.” All “components” of the nuclear triad will be further improved.
He explained: “I must stress that we do not intend to be drawn into a new arms race; however, we will maintain our nuclear forces at a level of necessary sufficiency.
“This year, the modernization of the strategic deterrence forces’ arsenal has reached approximately 94%. In line with the State Armament Programme, we will progressively transition our strategic missile forces to new fixed-site and mobile missile systems, which, compared to previous generations, are more precise, need less pre-launch time, and what’s crucial, have advanced capability to penetrate missile defense systems. Furthermore, the commissioning of the latest nuclear-powered submarine cruisers into the Navy continues, alongside the modernization of long-range strategic bombers.”
He opened his remarks that “I would like to emphasize that Russia reaffirms its principled stance that the use of nuclear weapons is an extreme, exceptional measure for ensuring state security.”
