Article – Russia Starts Nuclear Drills as Putin Trump Meeting Cancelled

The events involving Russia’s nuclear drills and the cancellation of the Putin-Trump meeting are closely related developments concerning the war in Ukraine.

Here are the full details:

1. Russia’s Strategic Nuclear Drills

  • Exercise Details: Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces, often referred to as the “nuclear triad” (land, sea, and air components).
  • Key Actions: The maneuvers featured practice launches of various long-range missiles:
    • A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia toward the Kura test range in Kamchatka.
    • A Sineva ballistic missile was launched by the strategic nuclear-powered submarine Bryansk in the Barents Sea.
    • Tu-95 strategic bombers were involved in firing long-range cruise missiles.
  • Official Goal: The Kremlin stated the exercise was intended to test the skills of military command structures and “practice procedures for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons.” Russia emphasized the maneuvers were planned in advance.
  • Context: The drills served as a potent reminder of Russia’s nuclear might, following a pattern of such displays at critical moments in the war with Ukraine. They also followed NATO’s own annual “Steadfast Noon” nuclear deterrence exercises this month.

2. The Cancelled Putin-Trump Meeting

  • Proposed Summit: The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump was unexpectedly announced last week and was tentatively scheduled to take place swiftly in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss a peace framework for the Ukraine war.
  • Cancellation/Postponement: The White House announced that the planned summit was on hold, stating there were “no plans” for a meeting “in the immediate future.”
  • Reason for Delay (US Side):
    • President Trump publicly stated he did not want the meeting to be a “waste of time,” indicating a belief that there was not enough preparatory progress for a substantive discussion.
    • The decision followed a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which reportedly failed to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough on a ceasefire.
  • Reason for Delay (Russian Side):
    • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed Trump’s sentiment, stating that the planned summit requires “thorough preparation” and that neither leader wants to “waste time.”
    • The delay came after Russia reportedly reiterated its long-standing peace terms, which include a demand that Ukraine cede control of the entire southeastern Donbas region, an effective rejection of Trump’s suggestion for a ceasefire along current front lines.

The Interrelation

The Russian nuclear drills were conducted just a day after the US announced the postponement of the Putin-Trump summit. While Moscow insists the drills were planned in advance, the timing is widely seen by analysts as a strategic show of force and a signal to the West amid the failure of the latest diplomatic push to stop the war in Ukraine.

Chandan Singh

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