Russia will test nuclear missiles on Saturday
Created: 02/18/2022, 12:04 p.m
The exercise is led by President Vladimir Putin.
© XinHua/dpa
Moscow wants to test the reliability of its strategic nuclear weapons.
Vladimir Putin, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, will be present at the command post.
Moscow - Amidst serious tensions with the West, nuclear power Russia has announced a maneuver using ballistic missiles.
The exercise this Saturday is under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said, according to the Tass state agency.
The aim is to test the strategic nuclear weapons for their reliability.
The army wants to fire ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Putin, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, will be present at the command post, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
“Such launches are not possible without the head of state.
You know - the famous 'black suitcase', the 'red button'.” The Munich Security Conference is to be continued at the same time.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the maneuver was planned in advance.
Russia tests missiles several times a year.
The country and the US are by far the two largest nuclear powers in the world.
With regard to the test, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said there was no reason for concern abroad.
A number of exercises are currently underway "that are absolutely transparent for specialists from other countries".
Planned Shoigu Austin call
Russian maneuvers near Ukraine have met with criticism in the West.
The Ministry of Defense recently announced that its troops should return to their locations after the end of exercises.
That was doubted in the West.
Russia is also demanding security guarantees from the West because it sees itself threatened by the US military and the weapons in Europe.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was scheduled to call his US colleague Lloyd Austin on Friday.
The US minister had accused Moscow of continuing to increase troops and equipment and moving even closer to the border with Ukraine.
NATO saw no signs of retreat either.
Austin was on a visit to Poland on Friday.
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Moscow: Baerbock for peace talks in the Ukraine conflict
In view of the Russian troop buildup in the border area with Ukraine, the West is expressing the fear that the transfer of tens of thousands of soldiers could serve to prepare for war.
Russia rejects this.
The Kremlin is concerned about the situation in eastern Ukraine, where the ceasefire is fragile and there is a risk of a new outbreak of war.
There, Western-equipped Ukrainian government troops face off against Russian-backed government troops.
dpa