The Pentagon has announced that Russia officially notified US authorities of its plan to conduct annual exercises with its nuclear deterrence forces, amid NATO’s ongoing ‘Steadfast Noon’ nuclear drills.
“The US was notified and, as we’ve highlighted before, this is a routine annual exercise by Russia,” spokesman Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday.
The US military offered no further details, but acknowledged that Russia “is complying with its arms control obligations and its transparency commitments to make those notifications.”
The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to release an official statement about the date and scale of the planned exercise. Such drills usually involve comprehensive tests of both nuclear-capable and non-nuclear weapons, to ensure the readiness of strategic deterrence forces and the entire chain of command. The last time Russia conducted a similar exercise was back in February, several days before Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine.