Putin launches 4 ballistic missiles during Russian nuclear forces drill

Russian president Vladimir Putin took part in a nuclear forces drill, personally launching four ballistic missiles, the Russian defense ministry said October 27.

The drill itself took place on Thursday and involved all three legs of the Russian nuclear triad.

Units of Strategic Missile Forces control centers, crews of ballistic missile submarines of the Northern and Pacific Fleets as well as long-range strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces took part in training missions.

A Pacific Fleet submarine fired two ballistic missiles from the Okhotsk Sea at the Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk region while a Northern Fleet submarine fired a ballistic missile at the Kura range. The names of submarines participating in the drill were not revealed.

Tu-160, Tu-95MS, and Tu-22M3 bombers took off from the Ukrainka, Engels, and Shaikovka airfields firing cruise missiles at ground targets located on training ranges in Kura (Kamchatka), Pemboy (Komi), and Terekta (Kazakhstan).

Strategic Missile Forces fired a Topol missile from the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome at the Kura range.

The exercise was deemed a success by the defense ministry which said the missiles hit all the designated targets.