This week, NATO is conducting a long-planned, routine nuclear strike exercise called “Stable Noon” to practice deploying fighters used to carry nuclear weapons. And Russia is expected to conduct its own nuclear exercises around this month – as usual – in response to the NATO maneuvers, although the drills do not involve actual bombs. events, but they come at a critical time, given the recent suggestion by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Kremlin could deploy nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine.
US and British officials stress that they see no indication that Russia is actively preparing to launch a nuclear attack. And the signals that the global community must draw when it comes to monitoring Russia’s nuclear weapons program, while unmistakable, are powerful. That means the world will probably know if a nuclear attack is imminent.
“We take any nuclear weapons or nuclear swords here very seriously,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month. nor do we have any indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons. “
Similarly, Jeremy Fleming, director of the UK intelligence agency GCHQ, speak last week, “I’m hoping that we’ll see the indicators if they start going down that path.” He more that there would be “a good chance” to spot Russian preparations.
“For Russia, the arsenal is old and established, like its nuclear weapons program,” said Eric Gomez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute that focuses on arms control and nuclear stability. America. Arms control treaties provide a lot of transparency. They are not an open book – there are no countries. People still have certain secrets that they keep. But if you can train satellite or aircraft sensors at key points, you can catch if things are moving or scattering. “
As is the case with the United States and other nuclear powers in the world, Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles are always deployed and ready. Called “strategic” nuclear weapons, these bombs are aimed at cities or large industrial targets — which is probably what you think of when you imagine a nuclear bomb. The “tactical” nuclear weapons of immediate interest in Russia’s attack on neighboring Ukraine are smaller and intended for more restrained strikes, particularly in war zones. These bombs are also known as “battlefield” or “non-tactical” nuclear weapons and have never been used in combat.
Russian nuclear bombs are stored in military facilities and need to be transported and loaded onto aircraft or launchers for deployment. Pavel Podvig, who runs the research organization Russia’s Strategic Nuclear Forces, notes that the global community know the location of about 12 nuclear weapons storage facilities around Russia, where this activity may have originated. He added that the US has a deep knowledge of most sites because it Working with Russia to improve physical security of repositories from 2003 to 2012 as part of an initiative called Collaborative Threat Reduction.
