President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw a coordinated exercise of Russia’s nuclear forces across land, sea, and air, aimed at testing their combat readiness and command capabilities.
“The exercise tested the level of preparedness of the military command and the practical skills of the operational personnel in organising the control of subordinate forces,” Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying in a statement.
The exercise featured the launch of a land-based “Yars” intercontinental ballistic missile from a cosmodrome, a “Sineva” ballistic missile fired from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, and the deployment of nuclear-capable cruise missiles from strategic bombers.
“All exercise tasks were completed,” added the statement.
Russia conducts such drills regularly to test the performance of its nuclear forces and to signal its strategic capabilities, particularly amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.
Nato began its own annual nuclear exercises earlier this month, with F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers among some 60 aircraft from 13 nations taking part in the Steadfast Noon exercise, hosted by Belgium and The Netherlands.
With inputs from agencies