Putin's nuclear test sends a chilling message to the West

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the north, hitting a target at the Kura range in Kamchatka. Sineva and Bulava missiles were fired from submarines in the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk.

The maneuvers involved strategic Tu-95MS bombers, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and launching cruise missiles. The Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, provided Putin with details regarding the exercises.

According to information provided by the "Daily Mail", Defence Minister Andrei Belousov warned that these exercises illustrate Russia's capability to conduct a "massive nuclear attack with strategic offensive forces in response to a potential nuclear attack from an adversary."

Putin emphasised the importance of keeping strategic forces in "constant combat readiness" and praised Russian missiles for their ability to penetrate missile defence systems. He noted that "nuclear weapons remain an important element of Russia's security and sovereignty."

Additionally, the Kremlin announced changes in nuclear doctrine, aligning with Putin's recommendations. The president stated that these changes will allow Moscow to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack by a power possessing nuclear weapons, thus lowering the "nuclear threshold."

Furthermore, the new doctrine states that Russia may carry out a nuclear attack if a non-nuclear country attacks it with the support of a nuclear power.

Aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state, but with the involvement or support of a nuclear state, is considered a joint attack on the Russian Federation, said Putin.

Analysts have varying opinions about these changes. According to the "Daily Mail" reports, some perceive them as an attempt to discourage Ukraine's allies from supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons, while others interpret them as rhetoric meant to intimidate Western countries.