War in Ukraine: Russia successfully tests an intercontinental ballistic missile with nuclear warheads

Should we take the Russian nuclear threat seriously again? Russia has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from a fourth-generation nuclear submarine, it said this Sunday. This is the first launch in about a year.

“The new strategic nuclear submarine “Emperor Alexander III” successfully launched the intercontinental ballistic missile “Bulava” from the White Sea,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

According to him, the missile hit “on schedule” a target located at a training ground in Kamchatka in the Russian Far East. With a flight range of 8,000 km and a length of 12 m, the Bulava (SS-NX-30 according to NATO classification) can be equipped with ten nuclear warheads. According to the Russian army, the Borei-class submarine Imperator Alexander III is equipped with 16 Bulava missiles.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually criticized the use of nuclear weapons, deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, Moscow, in the summer of 2023.

The launch is all the more troubling because it came shortly after Russia’s withdrawal from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: on Thursday, Vladimir Putin actually unveiled a law canceling ratification of the treaty.

Opened for signature in 1996 and ratified by Russia in 2000, the treaty has never entered into force because too few states have so far ratified it among the 44 countries that owned nuclear facilities at the time of writing.

The US did not ratify it. However, Russia intends to “continue to observe the moratorium on nuclear tests” despite this cancellation, the Russian Foreign Ministry assured on Friday.