MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russia held an exercise of its strategic deterrence forces on Tuesday as part of an effort to maintain the system of their combat management, said Igor Korotchenko, a military analyst and editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine.
According to the analyst, even though the use of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons is a response measure of last resort, "in today's world, nothing can be ruled out." He also said the exercise should be viewed in the context of the recently announced changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine.
"In this respect, Moscow is certainly showing that it practices what it preaches," the analyst said. "Consequently, Russia should not only change the conditions for the use of its strategic nuclear forces and tactical nuclear forces, but also in practical terms maintain the system of combat management and bringing the sanction of use to a specific launcher in real time."
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin oversaw drills of the country’s strategic deterrence forces, which involved the launch of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk spaceport toward the Kura firing range in the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Apart from that, Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles were fired from the Novomoskovsk nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea and from the Knyaz Oleg nuclear-powered submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk.