Russia conducted a nuclear readiness test under President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, which involved land, sea and air launches. Videos showed Yars and Sineva missiles being fired from a missile base and submarine, while Tu-95MS bombers launched air-launched cruise missiles. In this pool photo distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin oversees an exercise of the country’s nuclear forces via video link in Moscow on October 22, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)(AFP) Russia’s nuclear forces conducted a readiness test by President Putin on Wednesday. The maneuvers included launches from land, sea and air to determine the operational readiness of the country’s nuclear arsenal. “Today we are conducting a planned — I want to emphasize, planned — nuclear forces command and control exercise,” Putin said during a video conference with the Kremlin’s top military leadership, CNN reported. Rockets and bombers in action Videos shared by state-run military TV channel Zvezda show a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile fired from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and a Sineva ballistic missile launched from the Bryansk nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea, the news agency also said Turange bombers were added is. air-launched cruise missiles, citing Russia’s defense ministry. The exercises tested the readiness of military command and control systems and operational skills, with all objectives reportedly achieved. General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the army’s general staff, said the exercises were designed to “practice procedures for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons”. Putin-Trump meeting stalled The nuclear readiness test came hours after US President Donald Trump said his planned meeting with Putin in Budapest had been put on hold, citing concerns it would be a “waste of time”. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, stressed that any summit “must be thoroughly prepared”. “Nobody wants to waste time: neither President Trump nor President Putin,” Peskov said. “These are the two presidents who are used to working efficiently with high productivity. But efficiency always requires preparation.” New START Treaty and Nuclear Issues Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov emphasized the importance of the New START Treaty, which limits the number of deployed nuclear weapons. “If the US rejects the New START proposal, there will be a total vacuum in the area of nuclear arms limitations and a growing nuclear threat,” Ryabkov said. He added that “Russia must be convinced of the US administration’s sustainability in abandoning its hostile course.” Putin has expressed willingness to extend the treaty by one year if Trump agrees, before it expires on February 5, 2026. The treaty, signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits both sides to 1,550 deployed warheads and 800 launchers and bombers. NATO exercises and rising nuclear tensions The Russian drills follow NATO nuclear exercises earlier this month, which involved more than 70 aircraft from 14 allied countries, including F-35 fighter jets and B-52 bombers, in the Standfast Midday exercise in Belgium and the Netherlands. “We have to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as safe and as effective as possible,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Putin Oversees Russian Nuclear Readiness Test, Highlights ‘Planned Command and Control Exercise’
