Moscow has launched a series of major military exercises involving a tactical nuclear weapon system, in Vladimir Putin’s latest show of strength to the West as his invasion of Ukraine rages on.
About 3,000 troops are taking part in drills using the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system, which is the backbone of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
The country’s defence chiefs released a video showing massive trucks carrying the missiles heading out on patrol.
At the same time, a top Russian diplomat said Moscow would no longer give the US advance notice about its missile tests. The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow had halted all information exchanges with Washington after last month suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms pact with Washington.
The Foreign Ministry had initially said Moscow would keep notifying the US about planned test launches of its ballistic missiles, but Mr Ryabkov’s statement reflected an abrupt change of course.
The military exercises, in three regions of Siberia, mean 300 vehicles driving missile launchers for the Yars, which is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of around 6,500 miles, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The exercises also involve hiding the deployment from foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, according to the Russian defence ministry.
Officials did not say how long the drills would last or mention any practice launches.
The START treaty had allowed the world’s two largest nuclear powers to inspect and limit each other’s nuclear arsenal. But Mr Putin suspended it last month, saying Russia could not accept US inspections after Washington and NATO had openly declared Russia’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal.
Moscow emphasized that it was not withdrawing from the pact altogether and would continue to respect the caps on nuclear weapons under the treaty.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had initially said Moscow would keep notifying the US of planned test launches of ballistic missiles, but Mr Ryabkov’s statement reflected a change of course. “There will be no notifications at all,” he said.
