Putin practices for nuclear war: Russia launches missiles from submarines, underground silos and aircraft in major strategic drill

• Russia’s full nuclear triad demonstrated in footage shared by Russian military
• The strategic drill was reportedly under President Vladimir Putin’s command
• Exercises included a missile fired from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea
• Several long-range cruise missiles were fired from strategic aircraft bombers
• Drills come amid heightened tensions with the West due to Russian aggression 

Russia launched missiles from submarines, underground silos and aircraft in a major strategic drill under Vladimir Putin’s command, demonstrating its full nuclear triad.

Videos shared by Russia show nuclear-capable missiles being deployed, the country’s defence ministry said, included the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Karelia nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.

Russia has expanded its military drills in recent years amid tensions with the West as relations plummeted to post-Cold War lows after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.  

Pictured: Russia tests a nuclear missile as part of a series of exercises in which the country demonstrated its full nuclear triad – deploying missiles from submarine, land and aircraft

In footage shared of the launch, an intercontinental ballistic missile could be seen being launched from a Karelia nuclear submarine (pictured) in the Barents Sea

Footage showed a Barents Sea launch by Delta-IV class submarine Karelia (K-18). 

The ministry’s TV Zevzda also highlighted an intercontinental missile launch from Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region.

Several long-range cruise missiles were also fired from both Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers from the Engels and Ukrainka airfields.

Cruise missiles reportedly successfully hit targets at the Pemboy training ground in the Komi Republic.

Ballistic missiles from Plesetsk and the Barents Sea hit targets at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka, on Russia’s Pacific coast.

TASS reported that the launches went ahead under Putin’s command.

‘Training to manage strategic offensive forces was held under the supervision of the commander-in-chief,’ said a statement from the ministry.

‘The training goals were fulfilled in full.’

In this photo taken from a video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, a rocket launches from a missile system as part of the drills

The ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia

The war games come less than two months before the New START U.S.-Russian arms control treaty expires in early February.

Moscow and Washington have discussed extending the pact, but differences have remained.

New START was signed in 2010 by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The Russian military has conducted sweeping drills of its strategic nuclear forces that featured several practice missile launches

The test launch of a nuclear missile from a submarine in the Barents Sea, pictured from a nearby warship from footage shared by the Russian military

It limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.

After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries still standing.

Arms control advocates have warned that its expiration would remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces, in a blow to global stability. 

The drills were under the command of Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured Wednesday)

22 year old design engineer Yulia Kalach (pictured) has become the 30,000th employee at a major White Sea shipbuilding enterprise tasked with modernising Russia’s nuclear fleet

Meanwhile, 22 year old design engineer Yulia Kalach has become the 30,000th employee at a major White Sea shipbuilding enterprise tasked with modernising Russia’s nuclear fleet.

Sevmash is the only Russian shipyard capable of building nuclear powered submarines.

Its expansion is linked to a major modernisation of the country’s underwater fleet, with many new vessels to be produced in the next ten years.

The company’s workforce has swollen by more than 3,000 in less than a decade.

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