President Vladimir Putin has been flexing Russia’s nuclear might this year, conducting drills with battlefield nuclear weapons, restarting production of ground-based intermediate range missiles, and revising the country’s nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for unleashing the arsenal. Russia has a significant nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 5,580 warheads and a nuclear triad of ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, long-range bombers, and ICBM-armed submarines. The Kremlin’s nuclear messaging includes using nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear or conventional attack that threatens Russia’s sovereignty, reinforcing the deterrent strategy of mutually assured destruction and signaling a willingness to use nuclear weapons in case of a massive air attack.
Full Article



