Russian military personnel conduct a strategic nuclear missile launch during a high-profile drill overseen by President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Pinterest)
On Wednesday, the Kremlin has announced the conduct of nuclear strategic exercises under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin. This said announcement came just a day after the anticipated postponement of a summit between Putin and President Donald Trump which was supposed to take place in Hungary. According to the Russian government, the drill was part of the standard military preparedness program, but the Western media quickly branded Moscow another show of anxiety and aggression.
The exercise was comprehensive in testing Russia's strategic military capabilities and included land, sea and air forces. According to Moscow, the drill was intended to examine the operational readiness of Russian military command structures and to evaluate the effectiveness of troops control personnel via an exercise, which involves the launch of a Yars ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) fired from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome toward the Kura range in Kamchatka, together with cruise missile firing from Tu-95MS strategic bombers and the deployment of Sineva ballistic missiles from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea.
Yars ICBM can reach up to 12,000 kilometers in distance, giving it the impression that it can be fired from Russian soil anywhere in the United States which it refers to as a strong nucleus of its nuclear potential. The vastness of the exercise, involving all branches of military obligation, suggests that Russia is prepared for any attack.
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The drill wide international attention as it coincided with the recent cancellation of the planned summit between Putin and Trump. On Tuesday, Washington decided against having the meeting, describing such a scenario as an opportunity lost.
This decision followed a phoned conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where Rubio indicated that the U.S. was exasperated with Russia's positions on peace talks because the country did not even entertain the possibility of a ceasefire that meets Western interests. Moscow on its side, slammed that to be fake news with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov emphasizing that preparations were still on course for the summit.
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Most analysts believe that the timing of the nuclear drill is very specific at demonstrating the Kremlin's strength and position in the ongoing geopolitical standoff with the West in relation to the Ukrainian conflict. Russia insists on the need for peace negotiations but the country also acts this way on the premise of maintaining at least some military readiness. Nuclear display is presented in the wake of diplomatic disappointment forms a broader effort to bring Western nations back to the negotiating table concerning the Ukrainian conflict.
More than just an ordinary drill, the Kremlin's nuclear exercise would be a calculated message to audiences both at home and abroad by publicizing its nuclear capability, it would further remind the world of its military reality but show readiness against an emerging atmosphere. The summits and postponed diplomatic negotiations make things even worse for what the future holds for relations between Russia and the West. The situation remains fluid and the global community keeps a judicious eye on it, concerned as to further escalation.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not reflect any political bias or endorsement of any country's actions or policies.
