15:20 21.09.2017

Russia stages massive mock nuclear rocket strike to wrap up Zapad 2017 war games

2 min read
Russia stages massive mock nuclear rocket strike to wrap up Zapad 2017 war games

During the final stage of the Zapad 2017 military exercise, Russia staged a massive mock nuclear rocket strike, using all three components of the nuclear triad, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

During the exercise on September 20, six long-range Tu-95MC and Tu-22M3 planes took part and carried out flights over the Barents, Baltic and Norway seas, the NSDC's website on Thursday.

"Strategic rocket forces were used from the 14th Rocket Division, which carried out a training strike using an intercontinental RS-24 'Yars' missile from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Archangelsk region at targets located in the Kura military training area on the Kamchatka peninsula. The Russian Navy nuclear ballistic missile submarine The Dmitry Donskoy of Russia's Northern Fleet carried out an electronic firing of the intercontinental ballistic missile," Turchynov was quoted as saying.

In addition, according to the NSDC, missiles were fired at sea-borne targets in the Laptev Sea from the shore-based Rubezh missile system and in the Barents Sea from Northern Fleet ships led by the Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) nuclear-powered battlecruiser.

"The staging of massive aviation missile strikes by Russian forces again shows the aggressive and belligerent nature of Russia's security and foreign policy, its readiness to escalate tension with the West to the point of conducting all-out war. It demonstrates the desire of Russia to dominate Europe," Turchynov said, adding that active measures by NATO and U.S. forces to monitor the exercises shows "full understanding of the Russian military threat."

Turchynov said that from September 21, 2017, Ukraine together with its partners will carefully monitor the withdrawal of Russian forces from Belarus and their return to their home bases following the Zapad 2017 military drills.

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