Russia flexes nuclear muscles as Ukraine tensions rise
Russia has launched nuclear-capable missiles and supplied nuclear munitions to some units as part of major nuclear exercises, amid rising tensions with NATO over the Ukraine war and drone activities in the Baltics.
Russia is conducting some of the largest nuclear exercises in recent years, involving 64,000 people to exercise its forces to “prepare and use nuclear forces in case of attack.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and top generals that the use of such weapons would always be an extreme measure of exceptional and last resort.
“Given the increasing tensions in the world and the emergence of new threats and risks, our nuclear triad must continue to serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of the Union Russia and Belarus,” Putin said in his speech at the Kremlin. he said.
He added that although Russia does not want to get involved in an arms race, it will develop and maintain its nuclear forces, including new missiles and submarines, at an adequate level.
Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with about 4,400 deployed and stockpiled nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists, while the United States has about 3,700 nuclear warheads.
The federation says China is the world’s third-largest nuclear power, with about 620 nuclear powers, followed by France, with 290, and Britain, with about 225.
Russia and China say US President Donald Trump’s plans for the Golden Dome missile defense shield threaten strategic stability.
As part of the exercises, Russia tested a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and a Zircon hypersonic missile from a frigate in the Barents Sea, while a submarine launched a liquid-fueled Sineva ballistic missile, the defense ministry said.
Russia displayed the Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, and a MiG-31 armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov told Putin that nuclear ammunition was given to troops in Belarus and Russia within the scope of the exercises.
Dummy warheads are often used in Russian nuclear exercises. A video released by the defense ministry shows a tarpaulin-backed military truck traveling with minimal security.
The joint exercises were greeted with concern by Ukraine and its NATO allies. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of planning to launch a new offensive from Belarus.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said its units and the army “implemented a comprehensive set of increased security measures in the northern regions of our country bordering Belarus.”
The nuclear drills come as Moscow says it is locked in an existential struggle with the West over Ukraine. Throughout the war, Putin issued reminders of Russia’s nuclear power as a warning to the West not to go too far in supporting Kiev. Ukraine and some Western leaders described such moves as an irresponsible attack.
Moscow accused the Baltic states of allowing Ukraine to fly over their territory to attack northern Russia, a charge NATO denies. The Baltic states, all strong supporters of Ukraine, say Russia has diverted Ukrainian drones into their airspace from intended targets in Russia.
The Kremlin criticized Lithuania’s top diplomat’s remarks as “on the verge of madness” after Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said NATO needed to show Moscow that it could enter Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave.
Kaliningrad is sandwiched between NATO members Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast.
