Amid rising tensions with the West, Putin flexes nuclear muscle with drills simulating retaliatory strikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched a major exercise of the country’s nuclear forces, simulating missile launches as part of a retaliatory strike amid rising tensions with the West over Ukraine.

In a video call with military leaders, Putin said the drills would demonstrate how top officials would respond to the use of nuclear weapons, involving launches of both nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.

Defence Minister Andrei Belousov noted that the exercise aims to practice “strategic offensive forces launching a massive nuclear strike in response to an enemy nuclear attack.”

Putin, who has frequently highlighted Russia’s nuclear capabilities to deter increased Western support for Ukraine, emphasised that the country’s nuclear arsenal remains a “reliable guarantor of sovereignty and security.”

“Taking into account growing geopolitical tensions and emerging new threats and risks, it’s important for us to have modern strategic forces that are always ready for combat,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying, reaffirming that Russia sees nuclear weapons use as “the ultimate, extreme measure of ensuring its security.”

Putin stressed that Moscow will continue to modernise its nuclear forces by deploying new missiles with greater precision, faster launch times, and enhanced capabilities to bypass missile defences.

According to The Associated Press, during Tuesday’s drills, the military successfully test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch pad at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarines also launched ICBMs from the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, while nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bombers conducted practice launches of long-range cruise missiles.

The Defence Ministry reported that all missiles successfully reached their designated targets, added the report.

Last month, the Russian leader warned the US and NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons for strikes deep inside Russia would put NATO at war with his country.

He reinforced the message by announcing a new version of the nuclear doctrine that considers a conventional attack on Russia by a nonnuclear nation that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack on his country — a clear warning to the U.S. and other allies of Kyiv.

Putin also declared that the revised document envisages possible nuclear weapons use in case of a massive air attack, holding the door open to a potential nuclear response to any aerial assault — an ambiguity intended to deter the West.

Tuesday’s maneuvers follow a series of other drills of Russia’s nuclear forces.

Earlier this year, the Russian military held a joint nuclear exercise with Moscow’s ally Belarus, which has hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.