Russian forces have placed a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a silo at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga Region, southwest of Moscow, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
The RS-24 Yars missile system carries multiple independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing it to have multiple nuclear warheads to destroy many different targets.
"The Kozelsky unit of the Strategic Missile Forces carried out the loading of the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile into a silo launcher," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post.
"The Kozelsk missile unit is the first in the Russian Strategic Missile Forces to be rearmed with the Yars fixed-based missile system."
The Russian ministry also said that the missile unit's personnel conducted military exercises, including training to counter sabotage and reconnaissance teams.
The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia has about 5,889 nuclear warheads in its stockpile, 1,674 of which are deployed and ready for use.
Russian President Vladimir Putin formally revoked Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on November 2, 2023.
Putin told Russian media on December 17 that he has no plans to attack NATO countries and that fears of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO are "absolute nonsense", but he is arming the Russian capital with the best Yars intercontinental ballistic missile.
Iranians moved Army to the border with Azerbaijan
Iranian Army Commander Major General Kiumars Haidari told IRNA news agency today that "the deployment of forces on Iran's northeastern border is being carried out to implement military spatial planning to focus on areas where there has been a shortage of ground forces."
According to the Iranian top officer, the country's ground forces are tasked with defending the independence and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"In the past, there was no military territorial planning that could definitively address the issue. Therefore, we designed and implemented the plan," he said. This spatial planning takes place using missiles, drones and maneuvering forces in Iran's border areas to conduct a decisive and timely operational plan against any threat, he claimed.
The Iranians are moving powerful forces to the border with Azerbaijan to control their border and are also targeting the Caucasus, which is also an area of turmoil due to Turkish plans after the defeat of the Armenians.
