Russia Tests Long-range Missiles To Face Enemy Attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin/Reploy Mikhail Metzel/Russian Presidential Press And Information Office/TASS

JAKARTA - Russia conducted a thousands of miles long-range missile test to simulate a "large" nuclear response to the enemy's first attack.

"Given the increasing geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern and always ready-to-use strategic forces," President Vladimir Putin said while announcing the exercise.

This happened at a critical time in the Russian-Ukraine war, after weeks of Russia signaling the West that Moscow would respond if the United States and its allies allowed Kyiv to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory.

On Monday, NATO said North Korea had sent troops to western Russia, but Moscow did not deny it.

In televised comments, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin the purpose of the exercise was to practice launching a massive attack by strategic offensive forces in response to nuclear attacks from the enemy.

The drills involved Russia's full nuclear "triad" consisting of missiles launched from land, sea, and air.

The Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwestern Russia to Kamchatka, a peninsula in the far east.

Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles were fired from submarines, and cruise missiles were launched from strategic bombers, the defense ministry said.

The 2.5-year war is entering a stage that Russian officials say is the most dangerous phase when Western countries consider ways to shore up Ukraine while Russian troops move forward in the eastern part of the country.

Putin said the use of nuclear weapons would be a very extraordinary act.

"I emphasize that we will not engage in the new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear power at the necessary adequacy level," Putin said.

He said Russia was switching to a new stationary and mobile-based missile system that had shorter launch preparation times and could cope with missile defense systems.