Russia says troops deliver nuclear warheads in major exercise
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Russian service members take part in a nuclear forces exercise at an unidentified location in Russia, in this still image taken from handout footage released on May 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MOSCOW – Russia on May 20 showed what it said was footage of troops delivering nuclear warheads to mobile Iskander-M launch systems, loading them and moving them undetected to launch sites as part of a major nuclear exercise.
In a statement released to state media, the Defence Ministry said its forces had practised bringing units to “the highest levels of combat readiness for the use of nuclear weapons”. The three-day exercise, which started on May 19 and is taking place across Russia and Belarus, comes at a time when Moscow is locked in what it says is an existential struggle with the West over Ukraine.
A senior Russian diplomat warned on May 19 that the risks of a direct clash between Russia and NATO were increasing due to what he said was a growing narrative in European capitals about the “looming threat of a high-intensity war” with Russia.
The diplomat, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, said the consequences of such a clash could be catastrophic.
The Defence Ministry said that the nuclear drills, which involve 64,000 military personnel, more than 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 surface ships and 13 submarines, would include rehearsing launch procedures for Russian tactical nuclear weapons based in Belarus.
Video of the training element showed Russian nuclear forces moving in convoy through a heavily forested area, camouflaging their vehicles and raising a launch tube into firing position. The Defence Ministry did not say where the drills took place.
The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code-named “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, replaced the Soviet “Scud”. Its guided missiles have a range of up to 500km and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Russia has used the Iskander-M against Ukrainian forces, according to state media. It has also deployed them in its European exclave of Kaliningrad in the past, and it has placed them in neighbouring Belarus, putting Ukraine and several NATO members within their range.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued reminders of Russia’s nuclear might as a warning to the West not to go too far in its support of Kyiv.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the latest drills looked aimed at amplifying longstanding narratives aimed at influencing NATO decision-making to Ukraine’s detriment and masking what the ISW said were Russia’s own difficulties in prosecuting its war in Ukraine.
Russia says that its forces are still advancing in Ukraine and that its aim of taking control of the remainder of the eastern Donbas region remains unchanged. REUTERS
