Shot from a submarine: Putin tests a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile

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A few days after withdrawing from the international treaty banning nuclear tests, Russia said it has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that could be equipped with nuclear warheads. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that a Bulava-type missile was launched into the White Sea from the submarine ‘Emperor Alexander III’. was shot down and hit a target on the Kamchatka Peninsula, thousands of kilometers away, at the scheduled time. This is the first test of a Bulava missile in more than a year.

The twelve-meter Bulava missiles with the NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 have a range of 8,000 kilometers and are a centerpiece of Russia’s nuclear strategy. According to the Russian military, the strategic submarine ‘Emperor Alexander III’, from which the projectile was fired, is equipped with 16 Bulava missiles.

Withdrawal from the Test Ban Treaty

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin (71) has repeatedly used rhetoric about nuclear weapons that is aggressive from a Western perspective. In the summer of 2023, Moscow moved tactical nuclear weapons to the territory of its ally Belarus, whose territory borders several NATO and EU states.

On Thursday, Putin sealed his withdrawal from the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by signing a corresponding law. However, on Friday the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it would continue to refrain from testing nuclear weapons. (AFP)

Source: Blick