On 22 October 2025 Russian armed forces conducted a regular exercise of strategic forces (in English). This is an annual exercise that is traditionally held in the fall. The previous one was held on 29 October 2024. As in previous years, the President of Russia participated in the exercise from the National Defense Control Center. According to the official announcement, the exercise "evaluated the readiness of military command bodies and the operational staff's proficiency in organising and managing the troops (forces) under their command." (Note that in 2024, it was a test of procedures of "a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by an adversary").

As in previous years, the exercise involved a launch of a Yars missile from a mobile launcher in Plesetsk, a launch of a Sineva missile from a submarine of the Project 667BDRM/Delta IV class from the Barents Sea (Bryansk), and launches of ALCMs conducted by Tu-95MS bombers. The official Telegram channel of the ministry of defense published videos of the launches.

During the Yars launch, the launcher was placed inside a Krona shelter (the video includes a shot from inside the shelter). Official reports do not say how many Tu-95MS bombers took part in the exercise, but normally these exercises include two aircraft.