PremiumRussia will continue developing its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers because such weapons are the main guarantee of its sovereignty, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
"We will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness, since the nuclear shield has been and remains the main guarantor of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state," Shoigu said.
"We will also increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces - both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defense systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles."
Russia has appointed Colonel-General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, despite fierce criticism from leading hawks over his performance in Ukraine.
Lapin, previously commander of Russia's central military district, was blasted last October by hawkish allies of President Vladimir Putin after Russian forces were driven out of the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, a key logistics hub.
His promotion - widely reported across Russian media but neither confirmed nor denied by the Kremlin - drew mixed reactions from the influential Russian war bloggers who provide often critical running commentary on Moscow's stuttering military effort in Ukraine.
Igor Strelkov, a former leader of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine's Donetsk region, questioned Lapin's credentials as a commander and blamed him for heavy Russian defeats last year near the city of Kharkiv. His promotion was "to put it mildly, a misunderstanding", Strelkov wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
Another prominent war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, said Strelkov was wrong to blame Lapin for the Kharkiv defeats but that his new position was a "useless" role that would duplicate the function of the General Staff.