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Russia To Continue Developing Nuclear Ballistic Missiles: Defence Minister Shoigu

Russia’s defence minister said that we will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness because the nuclear shield has been and continues to be the primary guarantee of our state's sovereignty and territorial integrity

Russia will continue to develop its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

“We will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness because the nuclear shield has been and continues to be the primary guarantee of our state's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Shoigu said.

He further said, “We will also strengthen the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces, both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defence systems are in place and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Despite harsh criticism from leading hawks for his performance in Ukraine, Russia has appointed Colonel-General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

Lapin, the former commander of Russia's central military district, was chastised by President Vladimir Putin's hawkish allies last October after Russian forces were driven out of Lyman, a key logistics hub in eastern Ukraine.

His promotion, widely reported in Russian media but neither confirmed nor denied by the Kremlin, elicited mixed reactions from influential Russian war bloggers, who frequently provide a critical running commentary on Moscow's stuttering military effort in Ukraine.

Former leader of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Igor Strelkov, questioned Lapin's credentials as a commander and blamed him for heavy Russian defeats last year near Kharkiv. Strelkov described his promotion as “to put it mildly, a misunderstanding” on Telegram on Tuesday.

Another prominent war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, stated that while Strelkov was incorrect in blaming Lapin for the Kharkiv defeats, his new position was “useless” and would duplicate the function of the General Staff.


Tags assigned to this article:
nuclear arsenal nuclear missiles Sergei Shoigu

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