(WatchDogReport.org) – According to recent reports, Russia test-fired a nuclear missile less than 24 hours after President Vladimir Putin made an aggressive threat to the United States and the West. In a televised speech, Kremlin commanders said that the Russian military fired a Yars ballistic missile, which can carry numerous nuclear warheads. Footage released by Russian state-controlled media outlets showed the weapon being fired from a missile launcher.
The video came after the Russian leader delivered one of the most controversial State of the Nation speeches he has given over the last few years, warning NATO members not to send troops to Ukraine. Putin also boasted about Russia’s nuclear power and claimed he would be forced to use it if the West kept provoking Moscow.
The 71-year-old president made the threat in response to recent comments made by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who suggested that NATO must send troops to Ukraine to help it win its war against Russian invaders. During a press conference, Macron told reporters that the West should do whatever it takes to meet “our objective,” claiming that sending Western soldiers to fight alongside Ukrainian troops wasn’t “ruled out.”
Military experts have said that the Yars ballistic missiles, also known as SS-29s, can reach speeds of nearly 32,000 kilometers per hour and can carry nuclear warheads of up to 500 kilotons. That is almost 30 times the strength of the atomic bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
The Yars ballistic missiles can also be equipped with numerous warheads, so these can achieve massive devastation over a wide area. Numerous reports have said that these weapons can be fired not only from silos but also from trucks and the so-called “nuke trains,” which hurtle around the Eurasian nation.
In a statement, the Russian armed forces said that the main goal of the launch was to confirm the technical, tactical, and flight details of the “modern missile system.”
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