Russia tests readiness of nuclear missile unit

18/10/2024 18:40

        Russia is testing the combat readiness of a unit equipped with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles in a region northwest of Moscow, news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying on Friday.
        
        The Yars, which can be deployed in silos or mounted on mobile launchers, has a range of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) and is capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads.
        
        Russia has carried out a series of nuclear drills this year in what security analysts say are signals intended to deter the West from intervening more deeply in the war in Ukraine.
        
        The latest one is taking place in the same week that NATO conducted its annual nuclear exercise and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unveiled his "victory plan".
        
        Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow had extended the list of scenarios that could prompt it to use nuclear weapons, effectively lowering the threshold for their use. Ukraine accused Moscow of nuclear blackmail.