The Russian military has conducted drills of its strategic missile forces Wednesday, deploying mobile launchers in Siberia in a show of the country’s massive nuclear capability amid the fighting in Ukraine.
As part of the drills, the Yars mobile missile launchers will maneuver across three regions of Siberia, Russia‘s Defense Ministry said.
The movements will involve measures to conceal the deployment from foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, the ministry said.
The Defense Ministry didn’t say how long the drills would last or mention plans for any practice launches.
The Yars is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of about 11,000 kilometers (over 6,800 miles). It forms the backbone of Russia‘s strategic missile forces.
The massive exercise took place days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Russia‘s neighbor and ally.
Meanwhile, the head of Russia‘s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that fighting to take control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had “practically destroyed” the Ukrainian army but also “badly damaged” his forces.
