Putin oversees Russia's strategic nuclear drill after delay in Putin-Trump summit

Kremlin on Wednesday reported that it had conducted a strategic nuclear drill under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin. This comes just a day after the announcement of the delay in the summit between Trump and Putin in Hungary. Kremlin asserted that it was a routine drill; however, Western media branded Moscow as "anxious".

Kremlin on Wednesday carried out a nuclear drill incorporating land-based, naval, and air components to assess the readiness of its “military command structures and the operational skills of personnel responsible for troop control”.

"Under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, a training exercise of the strategic nuclear forces was carried out involving their land, sea, and air elements," said the Kremlin in a statement

As part of the drill, Russia launched a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome toward the Kura range in Kamchatka. It also included the launch of cruise missiles using Tu-95MS strategic bombers, and Sineva ballistic missiles from the Bryansk submarine in the Barents Sea.

The Yars ICBM has a range of 10,500 km to 12,000 km, which is more than enough to strike targets in the continental US from launch sites in Russia.

Washington earlier on Tuesday refused to move forward with the proposed Hungary Summit, saying that they do not want “to have a wasted meeting”. This was the result of a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where Rubio summarised that Russia has not changed its position, even though it wanted peace but denied a potential “ceasefire” immediately, which will lead to “nothing” . However Russian official blamed Western media for “spreading fake news”. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, "Preparations for the summit are continuing."

Kremlin observers are interpreting this display of nuclear power as a method to intimidate Western powers, amid rising tensions and deadlock with the West over Ukraine.