Russia practiced a massive nuclear strike

(Patria) - Russia has practiced its ability to carry out a "massive" nuclear strike, the Kremlin says. The military exercise included delivering an "answer to an enemy nuclear attack," said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the BBC reported.

State television showed him reporting on the drill to President Vladimir Putin.
This comes as the Russian parliament supported Moscow's withdrawal of ratification of a global treaty banning any physical testing of nuclear warheads.

Russia and the United States conduct regular nuclear readiness simulations, and Moscow traditionally does so by the end of October. This year's exercises included "carrying out a massive nuclear strike by strategic offensive forces in response to an enemy nuclear strike," Shoigu reported to President Putin.

The Kremlin statement stated that there were "practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles".

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from a training ground in the Russian Far East, and another missile was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea, it said.

Earlier this month, Putin said Russia had conducted a "final successful test" of a nuclear-powered cruise missile. The experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having potentially unlimited range.

The latest tests will be seen as a demonstration of force coinciding with Moscow's denunciation of the international nuclear test ban treaty.