Brace for PD3! Russia Holds Massive Land-Sea-Air Nuclear Drill

Russian warships and a nuclear-powered submarine participated in a large-scale nuclear exercise in undisclosed locations on Thursday, amid rising tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Footage released by the ministry shows missile-launcher vehicles moving through forested areas, nuclear-capable fighter jets taking off, and warships and submarines operating at sea. Russia said the drill was part of preparations for carrying out combat tasks involving missile launches.

During the exercise, servicemen fitted hypersonic Kinzhal missiles to MiG-31 fighter jets. The Russian Defence Ministry said formations of the strategic missile troops, the Northern and Pacific fleets, long-range aviation, and the Leningrad and Central military districts took part in the exercise. Moscow also said that nuclear munitions had been sent to storage facilities on sites in Belarus as part of the training.

The three-day exercise began this week while Russia remains engaged in the conflict with the West over Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned of Russia’s nuclear forces as a deterrent to the West against broadening military support to Kyiv.

Amid the exercise, the Kremlin criticised Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys’s remarks that NATO should demonstrate the ability to penetrate Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland and home to the Baltic Fleet.