Russia has deployed a new Yars intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the RIA news agency cited the defense ministry as saying on Wednesday. The RS-27 Mod 2 Yars is one of Russia’s newer weapons capable of carrying multiple thermonuclear warheads and is designed to replace older Topol missiles that are no longer considered nuclear-capable.
Russia has made no secret that it wants to build up its land-based component of the nuclear triad, and the Yars missile is meant to become the mainstay of the system. The weapon’s reported range is 7,500 miles and is believed to be capable of evading the missile shield the United States and its allies used. It is also reportedly road-mobile, meaning it can be moved to another site in the event of an attack, making it harder for enemy radars to detect it.
In other Russian military developments, the strategic missile forces (RVSN) tested a new type of warhead on Wednesday, according to Izvestiya. A Topol ICBM launched from a mobile launcher at the nation’s northern space launch and test site at Plesetsk successfully carried the new warhead to its target on the Kamchatka peninsula. The news agency said the test was designed to verify that the new missile can carry various warheads.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu also announced on Wednesday that the navy’s share of modern ships has reached 100 percent following the addition of three nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. He also claimed that Ukraine could not regain control of several areas on the left side of the Dnipro River.
The statement was seen as an implicit warning to NATO countries that Russia is ready for a long-running confrontation and will do what it takes to protect its vital interests, including disregarding agreements such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It highlighted Russia’s steady undermining of arms-control architecture, as well as its violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and suspension of participation in the New START treaty.
The move to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders NATO member nations Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, as well as the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, was viewed by many hawkish commentators as an upping of the ante against the West. These weapons are currently stored at dedicated depots on Russia’s territory. Still, the decision to station them in Belarus would bring them closer to Russian aircraft and missiles that could be deployed against NATO countries in a conflict. Such a deployment has long been a critical demand of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is Putin’s ally. The Kremlin has described it as a counter to Western pressure on Belarus and a response to Russian concerns that Kyiv is seeking to join NATO. The West has dismissed such claims as ludicrous. The United States, which also has tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Europe, says it will monitor the new development.