Russia’s nuclear forces are holding drills northeast of Moscow Wednesday, a day after President Biden announced plans to send advanced missiles to Ukraine.
Some 1,000 Russian soldiers are taking part in intense maneuvers using more than 100 vehicles, including Yars intercontinental missile launchers, Russia’s independent news agency Interfax reported, citing the country’s Ministry of Defense.
The drills are taking place in the Ivanovo Oblast, about 160 miles northeast of Moscow.
The drills, which are aimed at preparing the missile systems for combat, required the troops to march more than 60 miles, camouflage the equipment and post guards, according to Russian news site mkivanovo.ru.
The training exercise also involved Typhoon-M armored counter-sabotage vehicles, which are equipped with remotely operated weapon stations.
The nuclear drills in Russia come after Biden published an op-ed in the New York Times Tuesday in which he announced that his administration will send anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and precision rocket systems to Ukraine.
“We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” Biden wrote.
The president stressed that the new weapons are not to be used against targets in Russia.
The plans to send weapons were an about-face from his position a day earlier, when Biden said the US wouldn’t be delivering rockets to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government does not trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to fire rockets into Russian territory.
He also accused the US of escalating tensions and hampering peace talks by supplying Ukraine with more weapons.
“We believe that the US is deliberately and diligently adding fuel to the fire,” Peskov said. “The United States is adhering to the position of fighting Russia until the last Ukrainian.”
It could take up to two weeks for the Ukrainian armed forces to deploy the new missile systems, which require additional training.