Rusia ha iniciado de forma sorpresiva uno de sus mayores ejercicios nucleares estrat\u00e9gicos en a\u00f1os. Las maniobras militares movilizan a unos 65.000 soldados, m\u00e1s de 200 lanzadores de misiles y m\u00faltiples buques de guerra. El Ministerio de Defensa ruso justific\u00f3 el simulacro ante supuestas amenazas de agresi\u00f3n externa de pa\u00edses europeos. Los ejercicios incluyen lanzamientos de misiles bal\u00edsticos y de crucero en su territorio y una gran novedad es la integraci\u00f3n operativa de las FFAA de Bielorrusia. Analistas de Occidente eval\u00faan estas acciones como una operaci\u00f3n para presionar pol\u00edticamente a la OTAN, mientras que por su parte Ucrania,sospecha que Rusia busca distraer a sus tropas creando una amenaza desde el norte.<\/p>\n
VIENNA \u2014 Russia launched its largest nuclear exercises in years on Tuesday, mobilizing nearly 65,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 surface vessels and 13 submarines, including eight strategic nuclear submarines, in a three-day drill that runs through Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the maneuvers without prior public notice on May 19, framing them as a rehearsal for \u201cthe preparation and use of nuclear forces in the event of a threat of aggression.\u201d The exercises involve the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, Long-Range Aviation Command, and units from the Leningrad and Central Military Districts, according to the ministry statement. Live launches of ballistic and cruise missiles at ranges inside Russia are planned as part of the drills.<\/p>\n
The timing is conspicuous on multiple fronts. Russia had not previously announced nuclear exercises for May; its annual strategic nuclear drill \u2212 informally known as \u201cGrom\u201d \u2212 has traditionally been held in October since 2022. The last time Moscow staged a surprise nuclear exercise was in the summer of 2024, when it focused on non-strategic weapons apparently timed to Western debates over supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War assessed that the current drills are similarly aimed at \u201cinfluencing NATO decision-making and masking Russia\u2019s own weaknesses,\u201d characterizing them as an information-pressure operation at least as much as a purely operational readiness check.<\/p>\n
The exercises kicked off as President Vladimir Putin was en route to Beijing for a two-day visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a diplomatic tableau that military expert Dmitry Kornev described to the Russian newspaper Izvestia as deliberately synchronized. The dual messaging \u2212 nuclear muscle-flexing at home, high-profile diplomacy abroad \u2212 fits a pattern the Kremlin has used repeatedly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.<\/p>\n