Vladimir Putin ordered to conduct nuclear strike exercises

Last night, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an exercise simulating a massive nuclear strike against the West.

In an unsettling development that will shock all of Europe and the United States, Putin watched as military personnel literally pressed a button to launch a series of strikes.

In one video, a Russian soldier presses a button to launch a Yars ballistic missile.

Other footage shown on Russian television shows a Tu-95 bomber launching cruise missiles and a submarine launching an ICBM.

According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the annual exercise was codenamed “Grom” – “Thunder” – and was supposed to work out Moscow’s response to an attack on its own territory.

“Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, exercises were conducted with land, sea and air forces of strategic deterrence, during which practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

State television showed Putin watching the exercise from a control room. The exercise included test rocket launches from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East and from the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

Long-range Tu-95 aircraft also participated in the exercise, the report said.

“The tasks envisaged during the training of the strategic deterrence forces have been completed in full, all missiles have reached their targets,” the Kremlin said.

Russian “strategic” forces are designed to respond to nuclear threats. They are equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as long-range strategic bombers, submarines, surface ships and naval aviation.

The exercise comes amid an ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine and after Moscow repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons.

Moscow informed Washington of its intention to conduct exercises on Tuesday.

The Russian exercise comes amid Moscow’s claims that Ukraine plans to detonate a radioactive device or “dirty bomb” on its soil as part of a false flag operation to blame Russia.

On Sunday, Ukraine criticized Russia for the claims, calling them “dangerous” lies and prompting Western allies to warn Moscow against using any pretext to escalate the conflict.

Ukraine and its Western allies quickly dismissed Moscow’s accusations, and the United States, Britain and France issued a joint statement on Sunday rejecting Russia’s “clearly false” claims.

Originally published as Vladimir Putin watches exercises simulating a massive nuclear strike on the West