Putin stages major nuclear missile exercises involving 3,000 troops in show of strength to the West
- Putin staging war games with Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system
- Putin has aimed to make Yars missile system part of Russia’s ‘invincible weapons’
Vladimir Putin is staging major nuclear missile exercises involving 3,000 troops in a show of strength to the West.
The Russian despot’s troops are staging war games with his ‘invincible’ Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system in three regions of Russia.
A video shows the Yars missile system – which replaced the Topol – on drills amid his war against Ukraine and high tension with the West.
‘In total, more than 3,000 military personnel and about 300 pieces of equipment are involved in the exercises,’ Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The drills involve the Strategic Missile Forces comprehensive control checking of the Omsk missile formation together with a command and staff exercise with the Novosibirsk missile formation equipped with the Yars systems.
The Russian despot’s troops are staging war games with his ‘invincible’ Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system in three regions of Russia
Pictured: The launch of the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system in October 2022
During the exercises, the Yars mobile systems will conduct manoeuvres in three Russian regions, the ministry said, without identifying the regions.
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‘Strategic missilemen will carry out a set of measures to camouflage and counter modern aerial reconnaissance means in cooperation with formations and units of the Central Military District and the Aerospace Forces.’
Putin has aimed to make the Yars missile system part of Russia’s ‘invincible weapons’ and the mainstay of the ground-based component of its nuclear arsenal.
There are few confirmed tactical and technical characteristics of the Yars mobile intercontinental ballistic missile systems, which reportedly have an operational range of 7,500 miles meaning they could be capable of striking both Europe and the US.
The missile is fully deployed unlike Putin’s hypersonic Sarmat – also called Satan-2 – which appears subject to delay after a failure to meet a deployment deadline at the end of 2022.
The systems can carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads and can be mounted on a truck carriers or deployed in silos.
The war games in western Siberia follow Putin’s announcement that he will station nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.
The drills involve both the Novosibirsk and Omsk Missile Corps equipped with the Yars strategic intercontinental ballistic system.
‘A commission of the strategic missile forces’ command will assess cohesion among the personnel as they fulfil their tasks,’ said the ministry.
The drills involve the Strategic Missile Forces comprehensive control checking of the Omsk missile formation together with a command and staff exercise with the Novosibirsk missile formation equipped with the Yars systems
The systems can carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads and can be mounted on a truck carriers or deployed in silos
The RS-24 Yars – a modification of the Topol-M missile – is Russia’s strategic missile system armed with a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile.
Yevgeny Kelgayev, Missile Regiment Commander, said: ‘The Missile Regiment, led by the Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, has begun taking the Yars missile system out to combat patrol routes and field positions.’
Since launching an invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russia has conducted numerous military exercises on its own or with other countries, such as China or South Africa.
It has also increased military training with Belarus, which borders both Russia and Ukraine, conducting a series of comprehensive drills over the past year.
Belarus has said it had decided to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons was a response to Western sanctions and what it said was a military build-up by NATO member states near its borders.
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