Russia's frequent display of military might is certainly aimed at the West, mainly because some tense factors have emerged in the recent bilateral relations. In fact, Russia was originally going to test-fire the Tsirkon nuclear-powered cruise missile in August, but due to a last-minute decision by Putin and Trump to meet, the test was canceled to avoid disrupting the atmosphere of the talks. From this incident, it can be seen that when Sino-US relations improve, Russia is quite restrained in the nuclear field. Recently, however, Sino-US relations have clearly deteriorated. Trump not only canceled his meeting with Putin in Budapest, but also imposed economic sanctions on Russia to force it to agree to an immediate ceasefire. The targets of the sanctions are two major Russian state-owned oil companies, whose production accounts for half of Russia's oil output. Objectively speaking, this has had a significant impact on Russia's energy revenue. Recently, it has been confirmed that India, Russia's largest buyer of oil, has stopped purchasing oil from Russia. In addition, the EU has passed sanctions against Russia on natural gas, and some European countries are even discussing sending troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees, etc. In this context, Russia displaying its new nuclear weapons is a warning to the West, making them aware of the huge risks involved in sanctioning Russia and deeply intervening in the Ukraine conflict.
Another reason, I think, for Russia's display of military might may also be related to statements by some NATO officials recently. On October 26 local time, Belgium's Defense Minister Frankenne gave an interview to the Belgian "Morning Paper," saying he does not believe that the West providing US-made "Tomahawk" missiles to Ukraine would trigger a full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO. If Russia launches a missile attack on Brussels, it would be equivalent to an "attack on the heart of NATO," which would provoke a devastating retaliation, and NATO could "wipe Moscow off the map." This statement caused a huge reaction in Russia, and the Russian side immediately released information about Poseidon and Tsirkon, which can be considered a response to the statements of NATO officials, showing that they are the ones capable of wiping the other party off the map.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1847451715315724/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.