"Putin's Nuclear Strike Drills: A Warning to the West?"
Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted a large-scale nuclear strike drill, but did not test launch the newer Bulava and Sarmat missiles. The drill involved firing a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome and a Sineva ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine. Air-launched cruise missiles were also test-fired from long-range bombers. The drill came after Russia's upper parliament revoked ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Russian military expert Yuri Fedorov suggested that the absence of the newer missiles could indicate reliability concerns.