Russia announced on Sunday that it had successfully conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from a fourth-generation nuclear submarine.
The launch of the Bulava missile, the first in about a year, comes shortly after Russia withdrew its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
“The new strategic nuclear submarine Kaiser Alexander III. successfully fired the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea,” the Russian Defense Ministry reported in a statement.
The missile reached its target, which was at a test site on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East, “at the scheduled time,” he added.
With a range of 8,000 kilometers and a length of 12 meters, the Bulava (SS-NX-30 in NATO classification) can be armed with ten nuclear warheads.
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According to the Russian military, the Borei-class submarine “Kaiser Alexander III” is equipped with 16 Bulava missiles.
Since the conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022, senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons, although Putin has expressed caution in doing so on other occasions.
Moscow deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, its closest ally, in the summer of 2023.
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On Thursday, Putin signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty amid the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis with the West.
Although it never came into force, the agreement was ratified by 178 countries, including nuclear powers France and the United Kingdom, and has symbolic value.
Supporters say it sets an international norm against nuclear weapons testing, but critics say the deal’s potential will not be realized without ratification by major nuclear powers.
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