Barents Region playground for Kremlin’s nuclear war-games

In the Barents Sea, the nuclear powered Delta-IV class submarine “Bryansk” launched a Sineva ballistic missile that less than 20 minutes later hit its target at the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East. The other way, a Pacific fleet submarine launched a missile that hit its target in Russia’s European Arctic, most likely at the Chizhna test range on Cape Kanin in the northern part of Arkhangelsk Oblast.

TASS news agency confirms the missile tests, but do not specify the locations of the targets.

A short statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry given to Sputnik says “Submarines of Russia’s Northern and Pacific fleets have launched ballistic missiles from the Barents and Okhotsk seas as part of a routine drill.”

Saturday morning, the massive nuclear war games drill was still not mentioned on the Ministry’s traditionally fast updated news site.

Russia’s nuclear tirad, consisting of submarines, strategic bombers and silo-launched missiles was last time tested on exactly the same date; October 30th 2014.

According to the newsportal Korrespondent.net, all missiles were launched simultaneously.

From Plesetsk south of Arkhangelsk, a Topol-M missile was launhced, likely also targeting the same test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula as the missile launched from the “Bryansk” submarine in the Barents Sea. This was the second launch of a ballistic nuclear missile from Plesetsk this week. On Wednesday, a Yars missile was tested as reported by the Independent Barents Observer.

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The third leg of Russia’s nuclear triad, the strategic bombers, launched cruise missiles targeting both the Pemboy range near Vorkuta in the Komi Republic as well as the Kura range in the Far East. The missiles were launched from Tu-160 supersonic bombers, according to TASS.

Additionally, an Iskander missile complex fired a short-range missile at a target in the Astrakhan region. In the Caspian Sea, a Kalibr cruise missile was launched.