As the war in Ukraine progresses, Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal begins to loom dangerously on the horizon. A crucial episode occurred this Wednesday in Siberia, where the Russian Army began a series of military maneuvers, which include the deployment of nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles.
In a story parallel to but connected to this episode, a senior Russian official announced that Moscow has stopped sharing information about its nuclear forces with the United Statesafter the only remaining nuclear arms pact with Washington was suspended.
“There will be no notifications,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in statements reported by Russian news agencies when asked if Moscow would also stop issuing notifications about planned missile tests.
“All notifications and activities connected to the treaty will be suspended and will not take placeregardless of the position that the US may adopt,” the diplomat completed.
Russia’s Yars intercontinental missiles
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the military exercises to be carried out by the Strategic Missile Forces of the Armed Forces in Siberia include the deployment of Yars intercontinental missileswith nuclear capability.
The moves will include measures to hide the deployment of foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, the ministry explained in a statement. As part of the drills, the Yars mobile missile launchers will maneuver in three regions of Siberia.
Misiles Yars
“The commission of the command of these forces began an inspection of the Omsk missile unit with exercises of command posts of the Novosibirsk missile unit, equipped with Yars ballistic missiles,” the Russian military command said.
The “Yars” missiles, of which there are mobile and silo versions, have a range of up to 12,000 kilometers y can carry up to four nuclear warheads.
According to Defense, in these exercises, included in the preparation plan of the Strategic Missile Forces for 2023, “more than 3,000 soldiers and nearly 300 combat machines participate.”
“The commission of the command of the Strategic Missile Forces will verify the preparation of the military during the fulfillment of the missions,” added the military entity.
The Russian military command pointed out that “during the exercises it is planned to carry out maneuvers with the autonomous shuttles of the Yars systems, which will cover the territory of three regions” of Russia.
In addition, the missile units “will practice camouflage exercises to counter modern means of aerial reconnaissance, in interaction with units of the Central Military District and the Aerospace Forces” of Russia.
During the exercises, Defense added, special attention will be devoted to the use of various types of drones.
Putin’s message
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday an agreement with Belarus for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons for which silos will be built, which will be completed by next July.
Las tactical nukes They are designed for use on the battlefield and have a relatively short range and performance much less compared to long-range strategic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, which are capable of destroying entire cities.
Putin’s decision to put tactical weapons in Belarus followed his repeated warnings that Moscow he was ready to use “all available means”a reference to its nuclear arsenal, to defend against attacks on Russian soil.
Russian officials have issued a barrage of aggressive statements since their troops entered Ukraine, warning that continued Western support for Ukraine posed the threat of nuclear conflict.
In remarks published yesterday, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, which Putin chairs, warned the United States and its allies not to hold out hope that Russia would be defeated in Ukraine.
Patrushev alleged that some American politicians believe that the United States could launch a preemptive missile strike against Russia to which Moscow could not respond, an alleged belief that he described as “myopic stupidity, which is very dangerous.”
“Russia is patient and is not trying to scare anyone with its military superiority, but it has unique modern weapons capable of destroying any adversary, including the United States, in case of a threat to its existencea”, says Patrushev.
Source: EFE, AP and Telam