“Under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Vladimir Putin, the strategic deterrence forces on land, sea and air conducted training and practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles,” the Kremlin said in a statement quoted by France news agency AFP. .
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the exercises were carried out to simulate a “massive nuclear attack” by Russia in retaliation for a nuclear strike against the country, according to the US news agency AP.
According to Spanish news agency EFE, Putin watched the exercises via video conference.
A ballistic missile launched from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East and another from the waters of the Barents Sea in the Arctic were used.
Long-range Tu-95 aircraft were also involved in this exercise.
“The tasks defined in the strategic deterrence exercise have been fully completed and all missiles will hit their targets,” the Kremlin said.
The United States has said that Russia informed Washington in advance about the exercises.
Russia’s strategic forces are designed to respond to threats including nuclear war.
They are equipped with long-range ICBMs, long-range strategic bombers, submarines and surface ships.
The drills coincided with heightened tensions between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine, which began in Moscow on February 24 this year.
Russia has since Sunday condemned Kiev’s alleged plans to use a conventional explosive device containing radioactive material known as a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine to provoke a response from Western allies against Moscow.
This would be a “false flag” operation that would appear to have been conducted by the enemy using the aftermath.
Shoigu reportedly spoke by phone in recent days about the Ukrainian project with his counterparts in several countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey and China.
Ukraine and its Western allies have denied the existence of such a plan, but Kiev rejected the accusation, saying Russia wanted to use a “dirty bomb” on Ukrainian territory as a pretext to escalate the conflict.
US President Joe Biden warned Moscow on Tuesday that it would be a “huge mistake” if it used a tactical nuclear weapon.
At the request of Moscow, the UN The Security Council discussed the issue behind closed doors on Tuesday, with Western nations condemning Russia’s false propaganda.
“These are false claims. Misinformation like we’ve seen before. No evidence was presented. Ukraine is clear that it has nothing to hide and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency [OIEA] They are coming,” British Ambassador to the UN James Kariuki said at the end of the meeting.
The Russian accusations come at a time when Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive that has allowed it to recapture Russian-held territory, including areas annexed by Moscow.
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