Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country must be prepared for threats, both “in peacetime, and – God forbid… in wartime.”
According to The Independent, he has ordered the Russian security council to check Russia’s readiness to survive nuclear, chemical and biological disasters and told the agency to develop protective equipment against nuclear, biological or chemical threats, if necessary.
Speaking at one of regular meetings with the council, which consists of the heads of Russia’s intelligence, defense and law enforcement agencies, Putin emphasized the importance to assess and potentially beef up Russia’s defense protocols against “nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological threats, both in peacetime, and – God forbid, of course – in wartime.” He also urged the security council to “analyze to what extent they [Russia’s defenses] correspond to the realities of today and, if the need arises, make the required revisions.”
“In the near future we should set up an inventory of individual means of protection for citizens, to determine which of them have become theoretically and technically obsolete, and develop measures to replenish stocks of such assets in accordance with modern designs,” Putin said.
Referring to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011, Putin outlined the need to beef up nuclear defenses in the near future. The Russian President also urged the country to be careful with the safety of its nuclear power plants and companies that deal with toxic chemicals to adopt updated procedures in order to avoid disasters. As of today, Russia has 10 nuclear power plants, according to Russia’s state nuclear agency, Rosatom.
High combat readiness of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces
Russia recently carried out drills that demonstrated the high combat readiness of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. All components of the Russian Nuclear Triad test-fired ballistic and guided missiles to demonstrate the high precision of their long-range weapons. The drills involved forces of the Southern Military District, Caspian Flotilla, Northern and Pacific Fleets, Aerospace Defense Forces and Long Range Aviation, according to the defense minister.
The defense minister reported that combat orders go smoothly along the chain of command from the National Center of Defense Control to the command chiefs of military formations and units. Shoigu shed light on some of the components of the drills, which involved the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces test-firing of a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Additionally, Tu-160 strategic bombers shot guided missiles to hit targets at Pemboy and Kura training ranges, while the Bryansk and Podolsk submarines test-fired ballistic missiles from the Okhotsk and Barents Seas.
“All designated targets were hit with precision,” Shoigu said. “Special attention was paid to issues of using high-precision long-range weapons,” the defense minister added, saying that a Russian gunnery ship of the Caspian Flotilla destroyed a target with the help of a Kalibr winged guided missile. Moreover, the Iskander-M ballistic missile system fired a winged missile at one of the Russia’s training ranges.
Russia’s nuclear capability can destroy the U.S. – Top Army General
Russia is the only country in the world with the nuclear capability to destroy the U.S., according to U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley. Milley called Moscow an existential threat to the U.S. when speaking at the Defense One summit in Washington on Monday. The general also considers Russia “aggressive” and “adversarial to the interests of the United States.” He also warned that Russia’s recent activity suggests it would be willing to use nuclear weapons. Milley added that Russia has been violating “the Westphalian order” since it started invading “sovereign nations” in 2008.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that some 4,000 NATO combat troops will be stationed in countries bordering Russia. In each of Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, there will be 800 to 1,000 soldiers stationed amid a high risk of escalation to a military confrontation between the world’s two largest nuclear powers: Russia and the U.S. A war involving NATO, the U.S. and Russia “would probably spell, if not the end of humanity, the end of any possibility of a comfortable future for humanity,” according to Don DeBar, American political analyst, as reported by ValueWalk on Sunday.
Russia turns into a global nuclear power empire
A few days ago, ValueWalk reported that Russia is slowly yet surely moving to turn itself into a global nuclear power empire that creates opportunities for itself that far outweigh the overall risks involved. Russia is currently aiming to strengthen its nuclear energy market in vital strategic locations all around the globe. With Putin telling the security council to focus on Russia’s nuclear defenses, it seems that the country’s leadership is developing a large-scale plan to bring Russia even more authority and influence in the global nuclear market.
However, the U.S. has already shown interest in countering the Russian nuclear dominance. Washington recently reached out to Pakistan to help its nuclear energy sector. Even though Pakistan has not been happy with the terms proposed by the U.S., the move indicates that Washington is looking for ways to become a competitor to Russia in the global nuclear energy market.
