Response To Western Escalation: Russia Held Nuclear Force Exercises

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The Russian Armed Forces conducted a strategic deterrence forces drill. The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the exercise involved the nuclear triad: land-based complexes, submarine-launched missiles and air-launched missiles.

The Strategic Missile Forces carried out a launch of the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile. It was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome at the Kura test site in Kamchatka. Simultaneously, in the Barents Sea, a “Sineva” ballistic missile was launched from a Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine and another ballistic missile, “Bulava”, was launched from the Sea of Okhotsk, from the “Prince Oleg” submarine. Long-range Tu-95MS aircraft also took part in the military exercises and carried out cruise missile launches. According to the Defense Ministry’s report, all the tasks set for the exercise were fully accomplished, and the missiles reached their targets.

Launch of the “Yars” intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk сosmodrome at the Kura test site in Kamchatka

Launch of the “Sineva” ballistic missile from the Barents Sea

Launch of the “Bulava” ballistic missile from the Sea of Okhotsk

Long-range Tu-95MS aircraft carried out cruise missile launches 

These nuclear exercises send a clear signal to the United States and its allies. Russia is demonstrating both the political will and technical capability to launch a retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction. The training of the Nuclear Deterrent Force is taking place against the backdrop of the Western establishment’s escalating rhetoric, particularly statements by the United States about striking deep into Russian territory with U.S.-made missiles, including ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.

The French government is also escalating. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu supported one of the points of Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called “victory plan” on the deployment of non-nuclear deterrence forces on Ukrainian territory after the war. Thus, Paris proposes to jeopardize radar stations, nuclear warhead sites and other infrastructure of the Russian nuclear complex with a “blinding” strike. According to The New York Times insiders, the Ukrainian president has asked the White House to deploy Tomahawk missiles, whose range exceeds 2,400 kilometers (the distance from the Ukrainian borders to Moscow is about 450 kilometers).

Russia’s nuclear deterrent force is currently the most powerful argument in the geopolitical confrontation between Moscow and Washington. Only three countries in the world possess a complete nuclear triad: The Russian Federation, the United States, and the People’s Republic of China. At the same time, Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet with a high degree of readiness. According to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, it has 4,380 nuclear warheads. By comparison, the United States has 3,708 nuclear warheads, the United Kingdom has 225, and France has 290.

In February 2024, General Anthony J. Cotton, Chief of Strategic Command of the U.S. Armed Forces, stated: “Russia has the largest and most diverse nuclear arsenal of any country in the world”. The Russian Army continues to build and adopt nuclear-powered submarines carrying cruise missiles, and is modernizing and expanding its nuclear capabilities. This includes the development and introduction of the “Kinzhal” and “Zirkon” hypersonic missile systems, which, according to a senior U.S. military official, add diversity and flexibility to the nuclear arsenal.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who personally observed the exercises from the National Defense Control Center, 94% of the total nuclear deterrent forces are modern weapons. The developers have been tasked with further improvement of all components of the nuclear triad.

Since February 2022, Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces have been on special alert duty. Moscow views them as the main guarantee of non-interference of the NATO bloc with its own troops in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s top leadership has repeatedly emphasized that it reserves nuclear weapons for exclusively defensive functions and is ready to use them only in case of a threat to sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

In September of this year, Vladimir Putin proposed to adjust Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine, significantly expanding the number of conditions under which Moscow is ready to push the red button. Among other things, aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear state would be considered a joint attack. Also, the use of the Nuclear Deterrent Force will be triggered when data is received about a massive aerospace attack, including one involving drones. These innovations are designed to eradicate the threat of a hybrid war against Russia, under the cover of a third party.

The decisive actions of Russia’s top leadership appear to have forced the Western elites to exercise more restraint. On October 23, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in an interview with Fox News that it was “pointless” to authorize U.S. missile strikes deep inside Russian territory. According to the U.S. defense secretary, Russian military aircraft is out of range of ATACMS missiles. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sharply criticized German opposition proposals to issue an ultimatum to Russia and deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

“When they say: If this doesn’t happen, then we will do this, then we will do this, then we will do this. That’s an escalation logic that I don’t understand. It is not prudent,” the head of the German government emphasized.

Vladimir Zelensky’s “victory plan,” which includes a demand for Tomahawk missiles, has been called “unrealistic and almost entirely dependent on Western aid” by the U.S. administration, the New York Times reports. Apparently, the West has begun to realize how excessive support for Kiev has encouraged the Ukrainian government to expect endless aggressive escalation. Given the deteriorating situation on the front for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, we can assume that Washington will intensify pressure on Zelensky to immediately move to a negotiation process that includes territorial concessions. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated his openness to such negotiations and once again confirmed it at a press conference following the BRICS summit in Kazan.

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