Russia launches a test missile known as “Bulava” that is nuclear-capable

On Sunday, Russia said that an intercontinental ballistic missile, fitted with a nuclear payload and fired from one of its submarines, had successfully passed its test launch. The first “Bulava” missile launch in more than a year occurred as Russia has become more vocal about nuclear weapons after rescinding its endorsement of a crucial treaty banning nuclear testing.

The Bulava sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully launched by the newly constructed nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine cruiser Emperor Alexander the Third, according to the defense ministry.

It claimed to have shot the underwater missile thousands of kilometers distant, on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, from an unidentified site in the White Sea on its northwest shore. It said, “The missile heads arrived at the designated area at the appointed time and the missile firing took place in the normal mode from an underwater position.”

The centerpiece of Moscow’s nuclear triad is the 12-meter-long Bulava missile, which can go more than 8,000 kilometers, or about 5,000 miles. Moscow has been charged by the West for deploying dangerous nuclear language ever since it began its war against Ukraine in February of last year.

The United States has sharply criticized President Vladimir Putin’s decision to revoke Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which he signed into law earlier this week. The 1996 deal forbids all nuclear explosions, including live nuclear weapons testing, but it was never approved by several important nations, notably China and the United States, hence it never came into effect.