By Mark Trevelyan
(Reuters) -Russia is testing the readiness of a missile unit that forms part of its strategic nuclear forces, the defence ministry said on Friday, in the latest of a series of warning signals to Ukraine and the West.
The test is taking place in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, in the same week that NATO conducted its annual nuclear exercise and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unveiled his “victory plan” for the war.
The inspection involves a unit equipped with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) – far enough to strike U.S. cities – and are capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads.
Troops are practising moving the missiles in the field over distances of up to 100 km (62 miles) under camouflage and protecting them against air attack and enemy sabotage groups, the ministry said.
Video published by the military news channel Zvezda, accompanied by dramatic music, showed the missiles being rolled out of hangars on massive wheeled mobile launchers and travelling by road at night. Other footage showed soldiers moving through woods and firing weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow had extended the list of scenarios that could prompt it to use nuclear weapons, effectively lowering the threshold for their use.
Ukraine accused Moscow of nuclear blackmail, and NATO’s new chief Mark Rutte has said the alliance will not be intimidated by Russian threats.
Russia previously held two rounds of exercises involving Yars missile units in July. It has also held three sets of drills this year to test preparations for the launch of tactical nuclear missiles, which have a shorter range and lower yield than intercontinental strategic rockets.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has issued frequent reminders that Moscow has the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal, but he has insisted that it does not need to resort to nuclear weapons to achieve victory on the battlefield.
The defence ministry said separately on Friday that it had conducted a test of a Kalibr cruise missile, another weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
It said the Kalibr was launched from a frigate in the Barents Sea and hit a target more than 1,300 km away in the Arkhangelsk region of northern Russia.