MOSCOW: Russia is training its forces for a “massive” nuclear strike in response to an “enemy nuclear strike”, Moscow’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday as the country fired test ballistic missiles.

According to the Russian press agency Interfax, Shoigu said they will also be practising “delivering a massive nuclear strike by strategic offensive forces in response to an enemy nuclear strike.”

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw ballistic missile drills remotely, the Kremlin said, hours after Russia moved to revoke its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty. The drills came 20 months into Moscow’s Ukraine offensive — which has raised some fears of nuclear war — and hours after Russia moved to revoke a key nuclear arms control treaty.

“Under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armed forces, Vladimir Putin, a training exercise was conducted with the forces and equipment of ground, sea, and air components of nuclear deterrent forces,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

“During the training, practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place.”

It said one of the missiles was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Russian north and that another missile was fired from a nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea. Moscow said “long-range Tu-95MS planes” took part in the training. It added that the drills checked “the level of preparedness of military command and control bodies”. Russian state television aired footage of Putin being briefed by Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2023