Russia said it test-launched an RSM-56 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the nuclear-powered submarine Generalissimo Suvorov in the Sea of Okhotsk on Wednesday. The missile was aimed toward the Chizha testing range in Russia’s western Arkhangelsk Region, putting a submarine-based strategic system back into view just after a rare call involving Vladimir Putin and two NATO leaders.
The Bulava has a range of more than 5,000 miles, and each Borei-class submarine can carry up to 16 Bulava missiles. That makes the launch more than a routine weapons trial: it showed a system designed to move far beyond the waters where it was fired.
Stubb, Støre, and Putin
Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre said they had spoken with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The Finnish government said the call also covered planned three-way talks between Moscow, Washington and Kyiv in Abu Dhabi next month, while the Kremlin said Norway and Finland had requested the conversation.
Stubb and Støre said they initiated the call to discuss the Ukraine war and efforts to end the long-running conflict. Stubb and Støre also said they had consulted thoroughly with all our partners, a detail that places the call inside a wider NATO and European Union debate over whether direct contact with Vladimir Putin helps or harms diplomacy.
Finland and Norway in focus
The missile test came soon after Nordic leaders spoke directly with Vladimir Putin, even as some European leaders warned against separate contacts with him. During the call, Vladimir Putin accused the European Union and NATO of drawing out the war through confrontational policies, a line that Mette Frederiksen later met with skepticism.
Frederiksen said she was “very skeptical” about the phone call and added, “I think that we should keep Europe together instead of going solo.” Donald Tusk called for “absolute caution and vigilance” in contact with Vladimir Putin, and Kęstutis Budrys said, “Any contact with Russia must be backed by a united position.” Ulf Kristersson said, “I have quite low expectations for this type of conversation.”
Sea of Okhotsk launch
Russia has used submarines for Bulava trials before, including a May 22, 2018 test from Yuri Dolgoruky in the White Sea. This launch followed the same broad pattern but used Generalissimo Suvorov in the Sea of Okhotsk, showing that Russia continues to use its submarine force as a moving platform for strategic missile testing.
What remains in view is the timing. The call with Stubb and Støre opened a diplomatic track involving Norway, Finland, Washington and Kyiv in Abu Dhabi next month, and the missile launch arrived almost immediately after that conversation. Whether the launch was intended as a signal tied to the call is not answered by the material available, but the sequence leaves the two moves visually linked.
