Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces Conduct Drills Amid Postponed Trump Summit

Putin Oversees Nuclear Triad Exercises

On October 22, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed comprehensive drills involving the country's strategic nuclear forces. The exercises, which included practice launches of various missiles, were conducted as a planned summit between President Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump was postponed. The Kremlin stated that the maneuvers were designed to test the efficiency of military command structures and rehearse procedures for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons.

Missile Launches and Strategic Assets

The drills encompassed all components of Russia's nuclear triad: land, sea, and air. Key elements of the exercise included:

• A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia.
• A Sineva ICBM was launched by a submarine operating in the Barents Sea.
• Tu-95 strategic bombers participated by firing long-range cruise missiles.

These launches were part of a simulation intended to practice a 'massive nuclear strike' in response to a hypothetical nuclear attack. General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff, and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov reported to President Putin via video link during the exercises.

Context of Postponed Summit

The timing of these strategic drills coincided with the announcement that a meeting between President Putin and President Trump in Budapest had been put on hold. U.S. President Trump indicated that he did not want the meeting to be a 'waste of time.' This decision followed discussions between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. While Russian officials emphasized that the nuclear maneuvers had been planned in advance, their execution hours after the summit's postponement drew significant international attention.