Russia tests Yars missile unit readiness near Moscow
Russia is checking its Yars missile unitʼs combat readiness northwest of Moscow. This test happens as NATO holds its yearly nuclear drill and Ukraine shows its plan for winning the conflict
About a year ago‚ Russia started to check how ready its Yars missile unit was in an area close to Moscow. The defense ministry told news agencies that this test was happening. Yars missiles can be put in holes in the ground or on trucks that move around. They can go really far – up to 11000 km (6835 miles) and can carry more than one nuclear bomb.
Last year Russia did a lot of tests with nuclear weapons. People who know about safety think Russia is doing this to make Western countries not want to help Ukraine more in the war. This test is happening at the same time as NATO is doing its yearly practice with nuclear weapons‚ and Ukraineʼs leader Zelenskiy showed how he thinks they can win.
A while back‚ Putin (Russias leader) said they might use nuclear weapons in more situations than before. This means they might use them when they wouldnʼt have before. Ukraine said Russia was trying to scare them with nuclear weapons.
In this new test‚ a group in the Tver area will practice moving Yars missiles in fields for up to 100 km (62 miles). Theyʼll try to hide them and keep them safe from planes attacking them or enemy groups trying to break them. The defense ministry told Interfax about this.
Russia did two other tests with Yars missiles about 15 months ago. They also did three tests last year to see if they were ready to use smaller nuclear missiles that dont go as far.
During the war‚ Putin keeps reminding everyone that Russia has the most nuclear weapons in the world. But he says they dont need to use them to win in Ukraine
