Russia conducts ‘massive’ retaliatory nuclear strike drill

Russia’s military has conducted an extended and detailed drill of executing a massive, retaliatory nuclear strike. President Vladimir Putin oversaw the exercise, which included simulated missile launches from land-based silos, a nuclear submarine, and long-range bomber aircraft. The drill aimed to practice responding with a massive nuclear strike using strategic offensive forces in case of a nuclear attack by an adversary, although it should be noted that no nuclear tests were conducted as part of the drills. The drill comes in the wake of the Russian State Duma voting to revoke the ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons and peaceful nuclear explosions, and was signed by, and ratified by, the vast majority of countries throughout the world. However, the United States has failed to ratify the treaty every year for the past 27 years.