Russia conducted large-scale nuclear missile tests and drills on Tuesday, just a day after a planned summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to discuss the Ukraine war was abruptly called off.
The significant show of force, which included the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), occurred amid soaring tensions with Washington following the collapse of the anticipated peace talks.
The Russian military test-fired a Yars ICBM from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia and a Sineva ICBM from a submarine in the Barents Sea. Furthermore, strategic bomber forces participated, with Tu-95 aircraft launching long-range cruise missiles, according to a Kremlin statement.
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“Planned in Advance”
Putin insisted that the exercises had been planned in advance.
However, their timing—immediately following the cancellation of the Budapest summit—has been interpreted by many as a powerful signal directed at the West. The US President has previously voiced deep concern over the threat of nuclear war, calling it “the greatest threat to humanity.”
The Hungary summit was intended to kickstart negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine but was abandoned after a “tense” phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The top diplomats reportedly failed to bridge disagreements over territorial concessions and Western arms deliveries to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of employing “stalling tactics” to prolong the conflict.
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