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A senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday that Moscow would no longer inform the US of its missile tests, an announcement that came as the Russian military deployed mobile launchers in Siberia in a show of the country’s massive nuclear capabilities amid fighting in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in comments carried by a Russian news agency that Moscow had stopped all information exchanges with Washington after previously suspending participation in the latest nuclear weapons pact with the US.
Along with the data on the current state of the nuclear forces of these countries, the parties have also warned about the launch of tests. The news has been an important element of strategic stability for decades, allowing Russia and the United States to interpret each other’s movements correctly and ensure that no country is at fault in a test launch for a missile attack.
The suspension of the missile test warning is seen as another attempt by Moscow to prevent the West from backing its support for Ukraine. It comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Moscow’s ally Belarus.
The treaty is postponed
Last month, Putin suspended the New START treaty, alleging that Russia could not accept US inspections of nuclear sites under the agreement while Washington and its NATO allies openly declared Russia’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal.
Moscow has insisted it is not withdrawing from the pact and will continue to respect the nuclear weapons cap it has set.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry initially said Moscow would continue to notify the US of ballistic missile test launches, but Ryabkov’s statement represented an abrupt change.
“There will be no news at all,” Ryabkov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies when asked if Moscow would also stop publishing news about planned missile tests. “All notices, all types of notices, all activities under the agreement will be suspended and will not take place, regardless of what position the US may take.”
Ryabkov’s announcement followed a US official’s statement that Moscow and Washington had stopped sharing nuclear weapons data for the two years envisaged by the New START treaty. Officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department said the U.S. had offered to continue providing the information to Russia even after Putin suspended participation in the agreement, but Moscow told Washington it would not share its own data.
New START, signed by presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, limits each country to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The agreement envisages on-site inspections to verify compliance.
Inspections have been put on hold since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talks to resume were due to take place in November 2022, but Russia abruptly halted, citing US support for Ukraine.
Siberian exercise
As part of Russian exercises that began Wednesday, Yars mobile missile launchers will maneuver in three regions in Siberia, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The move will include measures to hide the deployment of foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Defense did not say how long the exercise would last or mention any plans for a training exercise. Yars is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of about 11,000 kilometers. It is the backbone of Russia’s strategic missile force.
The Ministry of Defense released a video showing large trucks carrying missiles leaving the base for patrols. The maneuver involved about 300 vehicles and 3,000 troops in eastern Siberia, according to the ministry.
The massive exercise comes days after President Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Russia’s neighbor and ally.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a relatively short range and lower yield compared to long-range strategic missiles fitted with nuclear warheads capable of destroying entire cities.
Putin’s decision to place tactical weapons in Belarus follows repeated warnings that Moscow is ready to use “all available means” – a reference to its nuclear arsenal – to deter attacks on Russian territory.
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