Russia Stops Sharing Missile Test Info with US, Opens Drills

This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven in an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven in an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russia Stops Sharing Missile Test Info with US, Opens Drills

This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven in an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven in an undisclosed location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

A senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday that Moscow will no longer inform the US about its missile tests, an announcement that came as the Russian military deployed mobile launchers in Siberia in a show of the country’s massive nuclear capability amid the fighting in Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow has halted all information exchanges with Washington after previously suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms pact with the US.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended the New START treaty, charging that Russia can’t accept US inspections of its nuclear sites under the agreement at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared Russia’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal.

Moscow emphasized that it wasn’t withdrawing from the pact altogether and would continue to respect the caps on nuclear weapons the treaty set.

The Russian Foreign Ministry initially said Moscow would keep notifying the US about planned test launches of its ballistic missiles, but Ryabkov's statement reflected a change of course.

“There will be no notifications at all,” Ryabkov said when asked if Moscow would also stop issuing notices about planned missile tests. “All notifications, all kinds of notifications, all activities under the treaty. will be suspended and will not be conducted regardless of what position the US may take.”

As part of the Russian drills that began Wednesday, Yars mobile missile launchers will maneuver across three regions of Siberia, Russia's Defense Ministry said. The movements will involve measures to conceal the deployment from foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, the ministry said.

The Defense Ministry didn't say how long the drills would last or mention plans for any practice launches. The Yars is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of about 11,000 kilometers (over 6,800 miles). It forms the backbone of Russia's strategic missile forces.

The Defense Ministry released a video showing massive trucks carrying the missiles driving out from a base to go on patrol. The maneuvers involve about 300 vehicles and 3,000 troops in eastern Siberia, according to the ministry.

The massive exercise took place days after Putin announced a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Russia's neighbor and ally.

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a relatively short range and a much lower yield compared to the long-range strategic missiles fitted with nuclear warheads that are capable of obliterating whole cities.

Putin’s decision to put the tactical weapons in Belarus followed his repeated warnings that Moscow was ready to use “all available means” — a reference to its nuclear arsenal — to fend off attacks on Russian territory.

Russian officials have issued a barrage of hawkish statements since their troops entered Ukraine, warning that the continuing Western support for Ukraine raised the threat of a nuclear conflict.

In remarks published Tuesday, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, which Putin chairs, warned the United States and its allies against harboring hopes for Russia's defeat in Ukraine.

Patrushev alleged that some American politicians believe the US could launch a preventative missile strike on Russia to which Moscow would be unable to respond, a purported belief that he described as “short-sighted stupidity, which is very dangerous.”

“Russia is patient and isn’t trying to scare anyone with its military superiority, but it has unique modern weapons capable of destroying any adversary, including the United States, in case of a threat to its existence,” Patrushev said.



Russia Urges US, UK to Restrain Ukraine after Attacks on Bombers

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28, 2025. Mauro Pimentel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28, 2025. Mauro Pimentel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Russia Urges US, UK to Restrain Ukraine after Attacks on Bombers

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28, 2025. Mauro Pimentel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28, 2025. Mauro Pimentel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Moscow said on Wednesday that military options were "on the table" for its response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and accused the West of being involved in them, Reuters reported.

Russia also urged the United States and Britain to restrain Kyiv after the attacks, which Ukrainian officials have lauded as showing Kyiv can still fight back after more than three years of war.

British and US officials have said they had no prior knowledge of Ukraine's attacks on Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at military bases over the weekend.

Ukraine also tried to blow up a rail and road link with Crimea on Tuesday, and Russia says Kyiv blew up a highway bridge over a passenger train late on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump's Ukraine envoy said the risk of escalation from the war "going way up" after the attacks on the nuclear-capable bombers. A week earlier, Trump rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin over a fierce aerial attack on Ukraine.

"We urge London and Washington to react in such a way as to stop further escalation," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees relations with the US and arms control, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

"All options are on the table," Ryabkov said, when asked what Russia's response to Ukraine's attacks would be. "This is a question for our military."

Russia and the US together hold about 88% of all nuclear weapons.

Asked whether Russia thought the West was involved in the recent attacks, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West supplied weapons, gave target coordinates, refused to condemn such attacks and actively incited them.

"These are several areas that prove the fact of the involvement, both direct and indirect, and the guilt of the West for the terrorist attacks that are taking place against civilians and civilian infrastructure facilities by the Kyiv regime," Zakharova said.

Kyiv has not commented on the bridge attacks. Each side has accused the other of carrying out acts of terrorism during the conflict and each blames the other for a lack of progress at peace talks.

Trump was not informed in advance of Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. A British government official said the government was not informed ahead of time.