Vladimir Putin has staged drills with road-launched Yars nuclear missiles in a forest in western Siberia. Their 7,500 mile range means they are able to hit the UK or anywhere in Europe. The tests come amid high tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine and amid near-daily threats from Putin’s propagandists to develop nuclear weapons. In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said: “More than 100 pieces of equipment are participating in the exercise. “Launch vehicles of the Yars road-mobile missile systems of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces” the Novosibirsk missile formation trained redeployment during a planned exercise. “As they maneuvered, missile units and squads dispersed into a forest to increase concealment.” They were trained to kill fake saboteurs, recognize the launch site and pass through “contaminated” areas, the defense ministry said. Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on alert earlier in the war with Ukraine (Image: AFP via Getty) To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the most serious crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war. Putin put his nuclear forces on alert earlier in the war with Ukraine and regular drills are underway. This week, one of its closest allies told the United States that Western efforts to punish a nuclear power like Russia for its war in Ukraine risked endangering humanity. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said efforts to use courts to investigate the country’s actions in Ukraine would be futile and risk being damaged globally. Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, told Telegram: “The idea of punishing a country that has one of the largest nuclear capabilities is absurd. And potentially a threat to the existence of humanity.’ Dmitry Medvedev pictured next to Putin (Image: Reuters) While president from 2008 to 2012, Medvedev presented himself as a reformer who wanted better relations with the West. But since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on February 24, he has redefined himself as a vociferous Kremlin hardliner. Medvedev wrote in a lengthy dialogue: “The entire history of the USA since the time of the subjugation of the native Indian population represents a series of bloody wars. “Was anyone held responsible for these crimes? What court condemned the sea of blood spilled by the US there?’ And he concluded: “It won’t work with Russia, they know it well. That is why the rotten dogs of war bark in such a disgusting way.’ Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
