Russia says 64,000 troops took part in exercises involving ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles, as Moscow tries to project strength after Ukrainian drone attacks and growing domestic anger over internet shutdownsAlex Nirenberg|Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the second stage of a joint exercise with Belarus had begun, including a series of launches of ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missiles were fired from military bases inside Russia, with Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko watching the launches together by video link.Panic in Russia as Putin stages nuclear-capable missile drills with BelarusAccording to official statements, the purpose of the joint exercise is to test the readiness of the two armies to operate and use nuclear weapons.Russia’s Defense Ministry said an intercontinental ballistic missile of the Yars model was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, about 800 kilometers from Moscow, toward targets at the Kura testing range in Kamchatka. At the same time, in the Barents Sea, the crew of a frigate launched a Zircon hypersonic missile toward the Chizha range in northern Russia.Russia also reported a series of additional launches. The Belarusian military said its troops had fired an Iskander ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, from the Kapustin Yar testing site.According to the Russian military, around 64,000 troops took part in this week’s exercise, along with some 7,800 weapons systems. These included more than 200 missile launchers, 140 fighter jets, 73 ships and 13 Russian Navy submarines.Through the threatening announcements, the Kremlin and Russia’s military are trying to repair their image. Only this week, Russian air defense systems appeared helpless in the face of one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks launched toward Moscow. The attack sparked anger among residents of the Russian capital, who for the first time felt in a significant way the setbacks their country has suffered on the battlefield in Ukraine.2 View gallery (Photo: Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)According to Russian opposition figures, the large-scale military exercise, together with the return to nuclear rhetoric, is intended to send a message to the West that Russia is not as weak as it currently appears.Earlier this month, CNN reported that security around Putin had been significantly tightened following a series of assassinations in the Russian military attributed to Ukrainian intelligence. The report also came amid concerns that Russia’s own security services could try to remove the 73-year-old president from power.Against this backdrop, Russian officials are concerned that the West may try to act to oust Putin, or alternatively force Moscow into a settlement in Ukraine that would be seen by the Russian public as humiliating and interpreted as a defeat in the war.According to Russian opposition assessments, Putin is seeking to signal mainly to Western European countries that in an extreme scenario involving damage to Russian interests in Ukraine, or active measures that could threaten the survival of his rule, the Russian Federation is keeping the nuclear option on the table. His immediate goal appears to be to slow, as much as possible, the supply of advanced Western weapons systems to Kyiv.2 View gallery (Photo: Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)The extensive coverage of the drill has also caused alarm inside Russia itself. The Russian public, which has paid a heavy price for Putin’s decision to invade its neighbor more than four years ago, does not appear eager to enter a nuclear adventure.For that reason, Putin himself issued calming messages Thursday aimed first and foremost at the domestic audience, saying the exercise had been planned in advance.“It is important to continue improving the level of training of strategic and tactical nuclear forces and developing all their components,” Putin said. “At the same time, as I have already said, we have no intention of being dragged into an arms race.”Putin added that Russia’s nuclear triad, its ability to launch nuclear weapons from land, sea and air, would remain at what he described as the required level of sufficiency.“The use of nuclear weapons is the last resort in defending the homeland,” he said.Lukashenko also tried to calm the atmosphere, referring to the Western reaction to the exercise.“We see the reactions in the West to this exercise,” he said. “They are in hysteria, but there is no basis for it. Everything will calm down soon and return to its course. There is no need to go crazy.”