Russia successfully conducted a strategic nuclear exercise on Tuesday, with all missiles hitting their targets, said the Russian defense ministry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the exercise via video link, which involved practical ballistic missile launches, according to the Kremlin.
The defense ministry said all objectives of the exercise were fulfilled, with all missiles hitting their targets and testifying their specified characteristics.
Putin said that Russia will not engage in an arms race, but the use of nuclear weapons is an "extreme, exceptional measure to ensure state security." It is important to have modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use, he said.
During the exercise, the Russian army launched a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Russia to Kamchatka.
Russian submarines fired Sineva and Bulava ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles were launched from strategic bombers, the defense ministry said.
Russia holds strategic nuclear exercise
A Qatari spokesman said on Tuesday that he remained hopeful, but not necessarily optimistic about the outlook of talks in mediation of Qatar and its regional partners to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Representatives from Qatar, Egypt, the United States, and Israel gathered in Doha for peace talks on Sunday and Monday and made some progress, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said at a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.
Currently, relevant parties are continuing to advance the peace talks, and communication channels remain open, but the situation is not easy, according to the spokesman.
"Regarding how hopeful we are, I will say at this point that I remain hopeful, not necessarily optimistic. So, we can't lose hope. The situation is not easy. We haven't reached an agreement for a really long time since November 2023. Right now, we are working, as I said, there is a new interest. And we are working always in keeping channels of communication open," he said.
Qatar is also mediating between Iran, the United States and Israel, which is carried out separately from the Palestine-Israel mediation, but in light of the current regional situation, Qatar is considering combining the two endeavors to de-escalate the situation in a more effective manner, the spokesman told reporters.
"We have been involved in facilitating communication between Iran and the United States and Israel to de-escalate. And this channel of communication has remained open since then. And the talks are ongoing to keep that channel of communication open and to make sure that there is a relative de-escalation between both sides. We are hopeful that this last attack will be the last stretch," he said.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,061, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.
Iran launched nearly approximately 180 missiles at Israeli targets on Oct 1 in what Tehran said was retaliation for the killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials.
The Israel Defense Forces said early Saturday that it launched "precise and targeted" airstrikes on targets in several areas in Iran in response to the attacks from the country in recent months.
On the same day, Iran said that it reserves the right to respond "legally and legitimately" to the Israeli attack.
Qatar not optimistic about Gaza ceasefire talks
