Russian military practices ‘massive nuclear strike’ in response to an enemy first strike

Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen a drill by Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrent forces, the Kremlin said on Wednesday evening.

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, who was also present, said that the exercise was carried out to practice launching a “massive nuclear strike” in the event of an enemy attack on Russia. A Kremlin press release said that the exercise’s objectives had been “met in full”.

The simulation involved the launch of a Yars intercontinental missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, as well as the launch of a Sineva missile from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea in the Arctic. The exercise also involved the launch of missiles from Tu-95MS Long-Range Aviation planes

A similar military drill, also described by Shoigu as training for “a massive nuclear retaliation to an enemy nuclear strike”, was conducted a year ago and also involved the Yars and Tula missiles and Tu-95MS planes.