These exercises — 64,000 troops, 7,800 pieces of equipment, ballistic and cruise missile launches — are a massive show of force designed to signal that Russia is fully prepared to escalate. The drills spanare taking place across the Leningrad and Central military districts and involve the Northern and Pacific fleets, makingwith thisthe farstated broaderaim thanof anypreparing routinenuclear readinessforces check.to respond to a simulated “threat of aggression.” With nuclear arms control collapsed, nothing is stopping Russia from expanding its arsenal unchecked.