Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov informed President Vladimir Putin about practicing nuclear strike tasks.
During the meeting with the top leadership of the country, the Defence Minister gave the floor to Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Gerasimov serves as the commander of the Russian Armed Forces in the zone of the special military operation.
In his report to President Vladimir Putin, Gerasimov said that a strategic missile submarine, a land-based mobile Yars missile system, as well as Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers were involved in the drills.
"Russia confirms its fundamental position: the use of nuclear weapons is an extreme, exceptional measure to ensure state security. At the same time, we understand very well that it is the nuclear triad that continues to be a reliable guarantor of sovereignty and security of our country <…> I am stressing this out - we are not going to get involved in a new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear forces at the level of necessary sufficiency," Putin said at the meeting.
According to the Defense Ministry, all elements of the nuclear triad were thus involved in the exercises: ground-based systems, submarine missiles, and air-launched missiles.
The launches were controlled from the National Defense Control Center of Russia.
"The tasks envisaged during the training of the strategic deterrent forces were completed in full, all missiles reached their targets, confirming the specified characteristics," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The term 'nuclear triad' designates three components of strategic armed forces equipped with nuclear weapons.
Of all the countries in the world, it is only Russia, the United States and China that have all the components of the nuclear triad.
The strategic deterrent forces (SDF) include strategic offensive forces and strategic defensive forces. They are designed to deter aggression or defeat the aggressor, including with the use of nuclear weapons.
On the afternoon of October 29, President Putin, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, conducted a training session of strategic nuclear deterrent forces via video link. Such training sessions are held annually.
The Russian deterrent forces have been on special combat alert since February 2022.