1 / 8Russia’s President watched the drills involving a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which was was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia, a Sineva ICBM, launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea, and Tu-95 strategic bombers capable of firing long-range cruise missiles, the report added.
2 / 8All parts of Moscow’s nuclear triad practiced procedures for authorising the use of nuclear weapons, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, told the Associated Press on October22.In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, the crew of the Bryansk nuclear submarine of the Russian navy prepares to conduct a practice launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile during the drills of Russia’s nuclear forces. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
3 / 8Russia President Vladimir Putin conducts a strategic nuclear forces exercise via videoconference from the Presidential Situation Centre at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
4 / 8Meanwhile, the Russian army also launched multiple drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, killing at least seven civilians, including children, and injuring more than a dozen others in the early hours of Wednesday, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who called for stronger sanctions on Moscow. Image source: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
5 / 8The escalation from Putin’s side comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he didn’t want to have “a wasted meeting”, ahead of a summit in Budapest that was expected in the coming weeks. The US’ proposal to freeze the current lines on the battlefield as part of the ceasefire agreement has rejected by the Kremlin. Image source: Bloomberg Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
6 / 8On Friday, Trump had rejected Zelenskyy’s demand for delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles that can penetrate deep into the Russian territory. In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, the crew of the Bryansk nuclear submarine of the Russian navy prepares to conduct a practice launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile during the drills of Russia’s nuclear forces. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
7 / 8European nations are working with Ukraine on a 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war along current battle lines, pushing back against Putin’s renewed demands to the US for Kyiv to surrender territory in return for a peace deal. A peace board chaired by Trump would oversee implementation of the proposed plan, according to people familiar with the matter, the Bloomberg reported. Russia President Vladimir Putin conducts a strategic nuclear forces exercise via videoconference from the Presidential Situation Centre at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
8 / 8“We must ramp up the pressure on Moscow with the 19th European sanctions package we are approving, which will reduce resources that Moscow can use for the war,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the Senate ahead of the EU summit. The stalemate on the battlefield “has today made possible reaching peace.” FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Drago
