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| FILE - In this file photo taken from a video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on Dec. 9, 2020, a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia. Russia is planning massive drills of its strategic military forces that provide a stark reminder of the country's nuclear might. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the war games on Friday amid Western fears that Moscow might be preparing to invade Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File) |
MOSCOW - The Russian service on Friday blazoned massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces, a stark memorial of the country's nuclear might amid Western fears that Moscow might be preparing to foray Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin will tête-à -tête oversee Saturday's exercise, which will involve multiple practice launches of multinational ballistic dumdums and voyage dumdums, the Defense Ministry said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin would observe the drills from the Defense Ministry’s situation room and supervise the practice bullet launches himself. The ministry said it planned the pushes some time ago to check the readiness of Russia's military command and help, as well as the trustability of its nuclear and conventional munitions.
The war games followU.S. President Joe Biden's warning on Thursday that Russia could foray Ukraine within days. Western fears concentrate on an estimated Russian colors — including about 60 of Russia’s overall ground forces — concentrated near Ukraine’s borders. The Kremlin insists it has no plans to foray. But Moscow has demanded that theU.S. and its abettors keep Ukraine and otherex-Soviet nations out of NATO, not emplace munitions in Ukraine and pull back NATO forces from Eastern Europe.
Washington and its abettors bluntly rejected the Russian demands, and Moscow hovered to take unidentified “ military-specialized measures” if the West continued to stonewall. Russia holds massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces on an periodic base, but the pushes planned for Saturday pointedly involve the Black Sea Fleet. The line is grounded on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia adjoined from Ukraine in 2014.
The Black Sea Fleet has face warships and submarines equipped with Kalibr voyage dumdums, but its does not have multinational ballistic dumdums and did not take part in analogous former drills of the country's strategic forces. In the history, Russia has held the periodic strategic forces drills in the fall.U.S. officers have raised concern that Moscow shifted the exercise to February to coincide with a possible irruption of Ukraine.
The Kremlin's Peskov said Russia notified foreign mates about the pushes in advance, adding that the exercise should n’t beget worries in the West. "Practice launches of ballistic dumdums are part of regular training,"he said. “ They're anteceded by a series of notices to other nations via different channels.” Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and invited him to watch Saturday’s pushes. The authoritarian Lukashenko, who has edged closer to Moscow amid Western warrants for his crackdown on domestic demurrers, has offered to host Russian nuclear munitions. in Belarus, which neighbors Ukraine to the north.
The strategic forces of both Russia and the United States include a nuclear trio of land- grounded multinational ballistic dumdums, submarine- grounded ICBMs and nuclear-able bombers. The exercise of Russia's nuclear forces follows a series of sweeping drills that the Russian service held near Ukraine and in Belarus.
The Russian service said it started pulling some of colors concentrated near Ukraine back to their endless bases after the drills. TheU.S. and its abettors questioned the claim and said that Moscow has actually moved thousands of new colors closer to Ukraine. Moscow argued that the withdrawal takes time and rejected Western review, saying that it would emplace colors wherever it's necessary to insure public security.