Russia holds massive drills of its nuclear forces

Key Points:

• Russia has launched massive nuclear force maneuvers involving 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 warships, and 13 submarines, including eight armed with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, amid increased Ukrainian drone attacks.
• The three-day exercises focus on preparing and using nuclear forces under threat of aggression and include cooperation with Belarus, which hosts Russian nuclear weapons and the new Oreshnik missile system.
• These drills follow a surge in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory, including a recent attack on Moscow’s suburbs that caused casualties and damage, challenging Kremlin narratives about the conflict’s distance from Russian civilians.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently visiting China, has emphasized Russia’s nuclear capabilities, including the recent successful test of the Sarmat ICBM, and adopted a revised nuclear doctrine lowering the threshold for nuclear response to attacks supported by nuclear powers.
• Russian officials have warned European countries involved in drone production for Ukraine of “unpredictable consequences,” signaling potential retaliation amid calls from hawks to strike Kyiv’s allies with conventional weapons.