Putin orders nuclear forces to be ready for combat use due to new external threats and risks in latest chilling WW3 rant as he watches missile exercises

Russian President Vladimir Putin today launched major new strategic nuclear weapons exercises amid growing geopolitical tensions and external threats.

The war games saw Moscows military conduct several test launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, each capable of delivering a fearsome strike with a nuclear warhead. 

Putin declared it was necessary to keep his strategic forces constantly ready for combat and lauded the capability of the latest Russian missiles to overcome air defence systems. 

He is said to have personally overseen some of the launches via a video link today, Russias TASS news service reported.

We will practice the actions of officials in managing the use of nuclear weapons with practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, he said.

The Kremlin chief pointed out that Russia would only use nuclear weapons as an extreme and exceptional measure, but went on to add the devastating devices serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty and security of the nation.

Given the growth of geopolitical tensions, the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use...

We will systematically transfer new missile systems which... have higher accuracy, reduced launch preparation time and - most importantly - increased capabilities to overcome missile defence systems, he concluded. 

Launch of a Russian nuclear capable Yars missile at Plesetsk cosmodrome

A Russian Yars strategic ballistic missiles launcher moves out a hangar during a drills in Novosibirsk region, Russia

A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives in Red Square during a military parade on Victory Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin today launched major new strategic nuclear weapons exercises amid growing geopolitical tensions and external threats

Russia boasts a fearsome nuclear arsenal with more thermonuclear weapons than any other country (Pictured: the mushroom cloud from the Soviet Unions Tsar Bomba - the largest nuclear weapon ever tested)

Russias nuclear weapons are distributed among specialised units in the Navy, the Aerospace Forces and the Strategic Missile Forces.

Taken together, these units form Russias nuclear triad under the Strategic Deterrence Forces - the worlds most powerful and numerous arsenal of nuclear weapons. 

Moscow is said to have some 5,800 nuclear warheads, 1500 of which are operational and ready for deployment with Putin declaring in March that his nation was ready for the eventuality of a nuclear war from a military-technical point of view.

All three components of the triad took part in todays exercises, Russias Ministry of Defence confirmed today.  

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched from the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome to the Kura test site in Kamchatka. 

Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles were launched from the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Novomoskovsk in the Barents Sea and from the nuclear-powered submarine Knyaz Oleg in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. 

Tu-95MS long-range strategic bombing aircraft were also involved in the training, launching nuclear-capable cruise missiles.

All missiles reached their targets and the drills were completed successfully, the Defence Ministry confirmed.

The unsettling drills come just weeks after the Kremlin announced that Russias nuclear doctrine, last updated in 2020, had been amended according to changes proposed by Putin that were in the process of being formalised.

Putin said the changes could see Moscow authorise a nuclear strike if Russia was hit by conventional weapons by a nuclear power, in a concerning lowering of the so-called nuclear threshold. 

The changes also enable Moscow to respond with a nuclear strike if a non-nuclear state launches an attack on Russia while being supported by a nuclear power.

Aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is treated as a joint attack on the Russian Federation, he said. 

The changes were widely seen as an attempt by Putin to dissuade Ukraines backers from sending Kyiv long-range missiles for use on targets inside Russia - a capability Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted is vital to turn the tide of the war.

Thus far it appears to have worked, with the US, UK and France refusing to give Zelenskys troops permission to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow long-range missile systems on Russian territory.

Germany meanwhile has refused to transfer its Taurus missile system to Kyiv, despite all four nations affirming earlier this month they would support Ukraine for as long as it takes. 

Soldiers stand next to a Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missile parked along Tverskaya street prior to a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, on Thursday, May 2, 2024

Russia tests its deadly hypersonic 208-ton 15,880 Satan-2 intercontinental ballistic missile

Russian media handout of a Yars ICBM test launch 

Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat, said the red line was intended as a very clear message to the West that Moscow will not tolerate further support of Ukraine.

Dont make a mistake - all these kind of things may mean nuclear war. Im really concerned about all the loose talk, he said. 

We run head-on into a situation which is completely unfamiliar to us... If you do not factor in the risks, you are likely to have a very unpleasant surprise.

But analysts advocating for further support of Ukraine argue that the supposed red lines are little more than Russian bluster, pointing out that the West has already crossed limits Moscow previously said it would not accept - for example, in the case of providing Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets. 

Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, said that Moscows red lines are just a psychological PR operation by the Kremlin without much substance. 

It is designed to scare leaders and voters of countries supporting Ukraine, he said. 

Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to Ukraines internal affairs minister, said on X: In my opinion, this is yet another bluff and demonstration of Putins weakness.

He will not dare to use nuclear weapons because that will make him a complete outcast.

Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow and defence expert in Oslo, said he did not believe Putins comments could be ignored but that it was important not to overreact.

Russian nuclear use is not imminent, he said, arguing that concern is warranted only when Russia signals actual preparations.

Hoffmann said next steps could be removing warheads from storage and pairing them with delivery vehicles for a tactical strike, before ratcheting up preparations for large-scale nuclear use by readying silos and putting bombers on alert.

All of these moves would be detected by Western intelligence agencies, he affirmed.