Russia pledges to develop more nukes, submarines, and bombers, calling them its main guarantee of sovereignty

• Russia will continue to develop its nuclear triad, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
• The triad consists of ICBMs, nuclear submarines, and strategic bombers.

President Vladimir Putin's defense minister Sergei Shoigu told top generals on Tuesday that Russia will continue to develop its nuclear inventory, as part of a promise to build a stronger military.

Shoigu said that Russia will push ahead with the development and maintenance of ballistic missiles, submarines, and strategic bombers, a combination known as a nuclear triad, Reuters reported.

"We will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness because the nuclear shield remains the main guarantee of our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Shoigu said, per the Russian news agency Tass.

Russia has approximately 68 heavy bombers in its nuclear air fleet, 11 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, and roughly 306 strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Russia's nuclear triad delivery systems are currently in the process of modernization, the non-partisan think tank said.

Those modernization efforts include the construction of Borei-class nuclear submarines, the development of a new ICBM, and equipping its air fleet with nuclear cruise missiles.

The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia has close to 6,000 nuclear warheads in total. If correct, this would make Russia the world's biggest nuclear power.

Putin has repeatedly made veiled nuclear threats since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In September he said Russia would use "all the means at our disposal" to protect its "territorial integrity," a phrase repeated by Shoigu on Tuesday.

Shoigu also said on Tuesday that Russia will be focusing on improving its air combat capabilities. "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," he said, per Reuters.

The defense minister added that Russia will look to increasingly take into account past military experiences of soldiers who fought in Syria and Ukraine when drawing up training programs, and when planning the supply of equipment.

Insider's Sophia Ankel previously reported on how Shoigu, a close friend and ally of Putin, has increasingly become a scapegoat for Russia's battleground failings in Ukraine.