Russia Simulates “Massive” Nuclear Strike Response in Drill

MOSCOW – Russia conducted a training exercise on Tuesday simulating a “massive nuclear strike” in response to a hypothetical enemy first strike, according to Defence Minister Andrei Belousov. The exercise, launched by President Vladimir Putin amid ongoing Ukraine tensions, involved a series of ballistic and cruise missile launches, described by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as a scheduled drill.

As part of the exercise, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia to the Kura test range in Kamchatka. Additional ballistic missiles, Sineva and Bulava, were launched from submarines in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas. Tu-95MS strategic bombers, which are nuclear-capable, also launched cruise missiles during the drill. The Russian defence ministry reported that all missiles successfully reached their targets.