13 March 2024, Wednesday, 18:12 1115

How many nuclear weapons does russia have and how will they be used. Experts’ evaluations

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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The aggressor state of russia has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, which it inherited from the Soviet Union.

This was reported by the Reuters agency on Wednesday, March 13.

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), russia currently has about 5,580 nuclear warheads, of which about 1,200 are decommissioned, but mostly remain intact. About 4,380 are retained for use by long-range strategic launchers and short-range tactical nuclear forces.

"According to the FAS, 1,710 strategic warheads out of stockpiled warheads have been deployed: about 870 on land-based ballistic missiles, about 640 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and perhaps 200 on heavy bomber bases. Such figures mean that also Moscow can destroy the world multiple times," the article says.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a peak of about 40,000 nuclear warheads, while the US had about 30,000.

How russia can increase its nuclear potential

According to FAS's 2024 analysis of russian forces, russia's nuclear arsenal has changed little compared to 2023, except for ongoing modernization in the face of russian threats. However, the US Federal Security Service believes that the number of warheads intended for russian strategic forces may increase in the future as single-warhead missiles are replaced by missiles equipped with multiple warheads.

Conducting of nuclear tests in the russian federation

According to the Arms Control Association, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, only a handful of countries have tested nuclear weapons: the United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996, India and Pakistan in 1998, and North Korea - in 2017. The Soviet Union last tested nuclear weapons in 1990.

Putin said that russia would consider testing of nuclear weapons if the US conducted the corresponding tests. In November 2023, the russian dictator signed a law withdrawing russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Post-Soviet russia did not conduct nuclear tests.

Who in russia can give the order to use nuclear weapons

The russian president is the person who makes the decision to use nuclear weapons. The so-called nuclear briefcase, or "Cheget" (named after Mount Cheget in the Caucasus Mountains), is always with him. It is believed that the Minister of Defense of the russian federation Sergey Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov also have such briefcases.

Essentially, the briefcase is a communication tool that links the president to the top military leadership and then to the missile forces through the top-secret Kazbek electronic command and control network. Kazbek supports another system known as Kavkaz. The briefcase has a section called "command" with two: a white "start" button and a red "cancel" button. The briefcase is activated by a special flash card, Reuters writes.

"If russia believed that it was threatened with a strategic nuclear attack, the president would issue a direct launch order through the briefcases to the General Staff Command and the Reserve Command, which possess the nuclear codes. Such orders are quickly transmitted by various communication systems to the units of the strategic missile forces, which then open fire on the USA and Europe," russian media write.

If a nuclear attack is confirmed, putin can activate the so-called "Dead Hand" or "Perimeter" - a system of last resort. This means that computers will decide when the "doomsday" will come. The control missile will give the order to launch nuclear strikes from all of russia's vast arsenal.

Under what circumstances will russia use nuclear weapons

Russia's nuclear doctrine defines the conditions under which the president will consider the possibility of using nuclear weapons: as a response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against russia "when the very existence of the state will be threatened."

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on March 1, the military of terrorist country of the russian federation held a public demonstration of nuclear weapons after putin threatened to strike NATO countries.

On February 29, putin announced that russia's strategic nuclear forces are on full alert.

It will be recalled that in September 2023, CNN, citing satellite images and military analysts, reported that the russian federation, the United States, and China may be preparing for nuclear tests.