MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. The drills for US strategic nuclear troops called Global Thunder should not be considered as a potential threat, Chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee for Defense and Security Viktor Bondarev said on Monday.
"I would not view the US drills as a potential threat, aggression or a hint at it," the senator told reporters, noting that "Russia's nuclear potential significantly outstrips that of the United States."
The senator insisted that it is normal for a country to carry out the tests of its armed forces, including strategic nuclear forces.
On October 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in strategic nuclear forces command and control drills. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that during the exercise, three intercontinental ballistic missiles were launched from the nuclear-powered submarines while one missile was test-fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in north Russia. All the practice targets were successfully destroyed.
"Actions of both countries are in line with the demands of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) that we signed in Washington. I suggest to view these US tests not as a threat to international security or bravado for intimidating Russia or North Korea but as a routine working moment in the system of improving the country’s defensive capacity," he said.
U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) will begin Global Thunder, an annual command and control and field training exercise, on October 30. The drills are designed to exercise all USSTRATCOM mission areas and assess joint operational readiness.