Russia, which inherited nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union, has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), it is about 5,580 such warheads, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
It is noted that out of 5,580 nuclear warheads, 1,200 have been decommissioned, but are mostly intact. Another 4,380 are stored for use by long-range strategic missiles and shorter-range tactical nuclear forces.
Of the stockpiled warheads, 1,710 have been strategically deployed: about 870 on land-based ballistic missiles, about 640 on submarines, and possibly 200 on heavy bomber bases.
Such numbers mean that Moscow could destroy the world many times over. During the cold war, the soviet union had a peak number of nuclear warheads of about 40,000, while the United States had about 30,000,
In which cases Russia can use nuclear weapons
According to Russia's nuclear doctrine, published in 2020, it may use nuclear weapons: in response to an attack on the country using nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction; in the event of the use of conventional weapons against Russia, "when the very existence of the state is threatened.
While Russia's nuclear declarations and threatening rhetoric are of great concern, Russia's nuclear arsenal and operations have changed little since our 2023 assessment, other than ongoing modernization,
Russia may plan new nuclear tests
The newspaper quotes Putin as saying that Russia would consider testing nuclear weapons if the United States did so. Last year, he signed a law withdrawing Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Although post-Soviet Russia has not conducted nuclear tests.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, only a few 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 in 1990.
Who makes the decision to apply in Russia
Putin is the final decision-maker on the use of nuclear weapons. The so-called "nuclear suitcase" is always with him. It is also believed that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov have such "suitcases.
In essence, the suitcase is a means of communication that links the president to the top military leadership and then to the missile forces through the top-secret electronic command and control network Kazbek,
Recall
On March 13, Putin saidthat Russia is "ready" to use nuclear weapons from a military and technical point of view if its statehood is threatened, but claims that there is no need to use them in Ukraine and that a nuclear war scenario is not on the agenda.