Russia’s strategic nuclear forces conducted a readiness test on Wednesday under the supervision of the country’s President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said.
“Today we are conducting a planned – and I want to emphasize this – planned – command and control exercise of our nuclear forces,” Putin said in a video conference with military leaders.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the exercise involved all three nuclear components: land, sea and air.
Footage shared by state military television channel Zvezda shows a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile being launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, and a Sineva ballistic missile being fired from the Bryansk nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.
According to the Ministry of Defense, a Tu-95MS long-range bomber also fired an air-launched cruise missile.
The Kremlin said the exercise tested the readiness of the military’s command and control system and the operational skills of the staff, adding that all objectives had been achieved.
Russia conducts regular readiness training as part of its nuclear deterrent. During a similar exercise last October, Putin said Russia’s nuclear weapons “make it possible to achieve strategic deterrence goals and maintain nuclear parity and the global balance of power.”
The following month, President Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine. Two days later, then-President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to attack targets deep in Russia with U.S. weapons.
In his comments Wednesday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister referred to the New START treaty, which came into force in 2011, under which the United States and Russia committed to limiting their arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Under the treaty, both countries had seven years to meet a set limit on the number of intercontinental-range nuclear weapons deployed. The expiration date is February 2026.
According to state media RIA Novosti, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, “If the United States rejects the New START proposal, there will be a complete vacuum in the field of nuclear weapons limitation and the nuclear threat will increase.”
“Russia must be convinced of the sustainability of the US administration abandoning its hostile course,” the newspaper quoted Ryabkov as saying.
Russia’s comments about the United States come as plans for a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have stalled, with multiple officials telling CNN that a planned diplomatic engagement in Budapest, Hungary, will not take place, at least for the time being.
President Trump said Tuesday he didn’t want the meeting to be a “waste of time.” He hinted that he could still meet with the Russian leader, but said he thought that was no longer a top priority.
The Russian exercise comes just over a week after NATO held its own nuclear deterrence exercise called Steadfast Noon.
The alliance said in a statement that the drill was “in no way related to the current world situation.”
About 70 aircraft from 14 allied countries took part in the exercise, operating from air bases in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Denmark, the statement said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the exercise was carried out “to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains as reliable, secure, secure and effective as possible.”
