Russia Deploys Nuclear-Capable Yars Intercontinental Missiles in Exercise

Russia deployed autonomous launchers of the RS-24 Yars, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can be armed with nuclear warheads, on combat patrol routes on February 19, according to a Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Telegram.

Newsweek has reached out to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The deployment of the launchers of the Yars ICBM during exercises indicates that Russia could further escalate the conflict with Ukraine, undermining recent peace talks held with the U.S.

Further, the Kremlin has the world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenal, just ahead of the U.S., and its use of ICBMs—which are strategic nuclear weapons—could enact more damage than non-nuclear missiles, taking out more territory.

What To Know

The Russian defense ministry wrote that “in the Novosibirsk missile formation, autonomous launchers of the Yars PGRK have been deployed on combat patrol routes,” and that crews “march up to 100 kilometers [62 miles], disperse the units with a change of field positions, their engineering equipment and security” and “solve issues of countering sabotage and reconnaissance groups.”

The defense ministry added that “as part of maneuver actions, missile units and subdivisions practice tasks of dispersing in a forest area in order to increase the stealth of the Yars PGRK units.”

The RS-24 Yars is a strategic nuclear missile designed to carry numerous re-entry vehicles that can be sent to various targets and several nuclear warheads. The ICBM can be mounted on truck carriers or deployed in silos. Russian media has previously described the missile as a variation of Moscow’s Topol-M missile.

The Yars ICBM is reported to have a range of approximately 11,000 to 12,000 kilometers and is able to carry up to four multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) warheads, each with a yield of around 500 kilotons.

This is not the first time the Russian forces have deployed the Yars during training exercises, as the missile has been loaded into silos at the Kozelsk missile base in the Kaluga region southwest of the capital on numerous occasions in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

What People Are Saying

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this month, WarTranslated, an account run by an Estonian military blogger, wrote: “Russia has begun drills on covert ballistic nuclear missile launches. Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video showing ‘Yars’ missile launchers moving through a snowy forest. The ‘Yars’ is a Russian strategic missile system equipped with an intercontinental ballistic missile, which entered service in 2010. It has a flight range of up to 12,000 km. The ‘Yars’ missile can be transported on trucks or deployed in silos. Russia conducted similar drills last year as a nuclear threat to the West amid escalating confrontation over its war against Ukraine.”

Caolan Robertson, a journalist and film director, wrote on X: “It’s time for Ukraine to have nuclear weapons to defend itself. It’s the only language Russia understands.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen how Ukraine will defend itself if Russia utilizes Yars ICBMS in attacks on Kyiv’s territory, as Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons when it signed the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.