The exercise is taking place amid tensions with the West over Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched strategic drills on Saturday, and is following the exercises from the situation center in Moscow, along with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The drills involve both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, and are being held amid the escalation in eastern Ukraine and continuing tensions with NATO. The Russian Defense Ministry said ahead of the maneuvers that they would include the “launching of ballistic and cruise missiles.” The air force is set participate along with the country’s Northern Sea and Black Sea fleets.
An RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia, to hit a target in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the country’s Far East, after traveling around 5,700km (3,540 miles).
The nuclear-powered Karelia submarine has fired an R-29RMU Sineva ballistic missile from the Barents Sea in the Arctic, also targeting the Kamchatka polygon.
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