Russia simulated electronic launches of nuclear-capable missiles during exercises in the Kaliningrad enclave.
The Russian Ministry of Defense revealed that forces established in the oblast of Kaliningrad simulated the firing of Iskander ballistic missiles.
“During the training, the servants carried out a covert advance to the designated positional area, where, having equipped the starting positions, they performed electronic single and group launches at targets imitating missile launchers, airfields, protected objects, accumulation of military equipment, and command posts of a mock enemy,” the Ministry explained in a statement on May 4, 2022.
The Iskander missiles were deployed on their firing positions before repositioning to avoid “a possible retaliatory strike”. The units involved in this exercise operated while protected against “radiation and chemical contamination conditions”. The exercises involved more than 100 Russian soldiers and simulated multiple launches of nuclear missiles.
The enclave of Kaliningrad is bordered by Poland to the south, Lithuania to the north and east, and the Baltic Sea to the west. With a range of up to 700 kilometers (440 miles), the Iskander-M system could target the Baltic countries, Poland, or northern Germany, including Berlin, from Kaliningrad.
Shortly after the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putting ordered his Russian Strategic Forces to put the country’s nuclear deterrence on high alert.