Russia's Yars Mobile Nuclear Missile Launchers Capable Of U.S. Strike

Russian forces are continuing to run drills with Yars mobile nuclear missile launchers which have the capacity to travel further than the distance between Russia and the U.S.

Russia has been working with its ally Belarus to increase the training of troops in tactical nuclear weapons deployment to discourage the West from boosting its support for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

According to the State Department, the U.S. has given around $53.7 billion worth of military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

In June, Russia told the U.S. and its European allies that they were edging the world closer towards nuclear conflict because of the billions of dollars' worth of weapons they'd been providing Ukraine, per Reuters.

This came after previous statements in which Putin said there was no need to escalate the conflict with nuclear strikes, adding, "The use is possible in an exceptional case — in the event of a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. I don't think that such a case has come. There is no such need."

Russian media reported the latest nuclear missile launcher drill update on Tuesday. The crews manning the missile launcher drills are based in the Volga River basin, the longest river in Europe. Situated around 700 km from Moscow, troops planned to travel more than 100 km while they practice camouflage and deployment, according to Russian media reports.

This would be the second drill of its kind conducted this month. Russia's Defense Ministry said it was carrying out similar drills at the start of July, weeks after it held tactical nuclear weapons deployment exercises with Belarus in June, per Reuters reports.

According to specialist military and defense outlet Army Recognition, the Yars RS-24 is a Russian mobile nuclear missile that can travel between 2,000 and 10,500 km with an accuracy range of 250 meters. The distance between Russia and the contiguous U.S. is around 8,800 km.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, as of March the U.S. had an estimated 5,044 nuclear warheads, while Russia had around 5,580. Combined, the two countries possess around 88 percent of the world's total nuclear weapons inventory.

Former President Donald Trump has said he would resolve the conflict in Ukraine within a day if elected as president, a statement that has been rejected by Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky and dismissed by military analysts.

A Trump spokesperson and Putin's press office have been contacted by Newsweek for comment.

The Russian leader said in February 2024 that he would prefer to see Joe Biden remain president over Trump being elected in November; Trump labeled it a compliment.

Since Biden withdrew from the presidential election and publicly endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris, Russian propagandists have focused attacks on her. Andrei Sidorov, the dean of the global politics department at Moscow State University, said on state television's prime weekly talk show, "Kamala with the nuclear button is worse than a monkey with a grenade."

The polls have been showing a surge of support for the vice president over Trump and she has secured enough support from Democratic delegates to run for nomination as the party's presidential candidate.

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