Russian Armed Forces Train for Nuclear Attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of some CIS member states watched scheduled Russian military drills on countering nuclear strike, reports ITAR-TASS. The planned drills come ahead of the May 9 celebrations dedicated to victory in World War II. "We are carrying out tests of the readiness of the Russian armed forces. It was announced last November. The exercises will involve all branches of the armed forces across the country," Putin told reporters at the Defense Ministry, quoted by RT.com. The military in the exercise demonstrated the engagement of separate missile and artillery forces and military units, aviation and air defense for the destruction of ground force groupings and rebuffing a massive missile and air strike of the enemy, as well as delivering a massive retaliatory counter-strike by nuclear deterrence forces and rebuffing the enemy’s nuclear strike by the missile defense system of the city of Moscow. The exercise involved strategic bombers, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines of the Pacific and Northern Fleets, strategic land-based mobile missile systems, combat power of the aerospace defense. The drills also involved missile and artillery forces of the Southern and Central Military Districts. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev were also present at the demonstration. Meanwhile, ITAR-TASS reports that Ukraine has stationed 15 000 troops at its border with Russia. According to deputy defense minister of Russia Anatolii Antonov, this does not help diffuse the tensions in the region. He also accused NATO of deliberately misleading the public about the actual situation at the border between Russia and Ukraine.