Russia Holds Massive Drills of its Nuclear Forces as Ukraine Steps Up its Drone Attacks

Russia began three-day nuclear force drills on Tuesday, involving 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 warships, and 13 submarines, including eight armed with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Defense Ministry stated the exercise focuses on preparing and using nuclear forces under threats of aggression, with cooperation from Belarus, which hosts Russian nuclear weapons, including the Oreshnik missile system. The maneuvers follow a surge in Ukrainian drone attacks, including recent strikes on Moscow’s suburbs that killed three and damaged buildings and industrial facilities. The attacks have challenged Russia’s portrayal of the conflict as distant from civilian life. Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently on a two-day visit to China, has repeatedly emphasized Moscow’s nuclear arsenal since invading Ukraine in February 2022. Last week, he praised a successful test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to replace aging Soviet-era systems. In 2024, Putin revised Russia’s nuclear doctrine, warning that any conventional attack on Russia supported by a nuclear power would be treated as a joint attack, lowering the threshold for nuclear retaliation. The doctrine appears aimed at deterring Western support for Ukraine’s use of longer-range weapons. Russian hawks have urged conventional strikes on Ukraine’s European allies, arguing NATO members would avoid direct conflict with a nuclear power. Last month, the Defense Ministry published a list of European factories producing drones for Ukraine, warning of ‘unpredictable consequences’ for such attacks.