Russia Holds Nuclear Drills Amid Global Tensions

On Oct. 22, President Vladimir Putin supervised large-scale strategic nuclear readiness drills that tested land, sea and air elements of Russia’s nuclear triad, including a Yars ICBM from Plesetsk, a Sineva SLBM fired from the submarine Bryansk, and air-launched cruise missiles from Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers. The Kremlin released footage of General Valery Gerasimov reporting to Putin and said the drills practiced command-and-control functions, including procedures to authorize nuclear use, and were presented as planned exercises not aimed at any state; the maneuvers coincided with NATO’s Steadfast Noon and followed intensified fighting with Ukraine. Separately, the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil to curb Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine, a move the Kremlin said it was analysing and would respond to in line with its interests. The drills were publicized amid reports of delays or the collapse of a proposed Trump–Putin summit. Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro ordered nationwide “Coast Independence 200” deployments after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had authorised covert action in the region, and Trump also said he expected India to sharply cut Russian oil imports by year-end and that he would press China’s Xi Jinping to help end the war.