US insiders believe that a major nuclear strike is out of the question - but warn against Putin's "tactical" warheads
Created: 09/29/2022, 05:01
By: Linus Prien
Russian President Vladimir Putin © Russian Presidential Press Service/AP/dpa
Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev have again threatened a nuclear attack.
The US is now stepping up its surveillance missions.
Washington, DC - Months have passed since Russia launched the Ukraine war.
But the spiral of escalation does not seem to be over yet: Russia recently intensified its indications that it would not shy away from the use of nuclear weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced, albeit in vague terms, that he would use "all means" to defend "Russian territory."
Likewise, Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev insisted on his country's "right" to use nuclear weapons.
That's why the American secret services are apparently already looking out for indicators of a possible use of nuclear weapons, as
Politico
reports.
According to experts, American intelligence information could come too late if the worst comes to the worst.
What's more: US informants on the portal consider the use of a "large" strategic atomic bomb to be almost impossible.
But not the launching of smaller, "tactical" warheads.
Ukraine war: Russia could rely on "tactical nuclear weapons".
Much of Russia's air fleet and missile systems are capable of carrying smaller "tactical" nuclear weapons, according to the report.
These weapons have significantly lower explosive power.
However, a planned launch is much more difficult to predict than in the case of strategic weapons: Conventional warheads could simply be exchanged for nuclear ammunition.
According to the article, almost every Russian weapon system can also be equipped with nuclear warheads.
The launchers of "strategic" weapons are much easier to detect by intelligence agencies, even if they are only moved for exercises,
Politico
writes , citing US sources.
As a result, the Russian army could use tactical nuclear weapons without the US or Europe noticing in advance.
Also because Putin is apparently losing popularity in Russia as a result of his partial mobilization, he could feel backed into a corner: "We are taking a closer look at it," said an American government representative.
Ukraine war: concerns about Putin's nuclear arsenal - "It remains a big bomb"
Another unnamed US official told the portal: “They will never use a strategic nuclear weapon.
What they're going to use are short-range weapons.
They have warheads, which we call micro-nukes, that have tens to hundreds of tons of yield.” The nuclear weapons used by the US in Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have had a yield of 15 to 20 kilotons.
The micro-nuke remains "a big bomb, however," said an American official.
However, the range is limited and the amount of radiation released is significantly lower than with strategic nuclear weapons.
Ukraine war: This is how the US wants to collect information about Russia
The US has intensified its intelligence operations to monitor Russian movements, according to the report.
They also work together with allied secret services.
The authorities use surveillance in the air, in space and on the Internet.
In addition, commercial satellites are increasingly being used to track Russian movements.
also read
Russian troops are threatened with encirclement near Lyman in eastern Ukraine – experts expect a new problem after the annexation
Ukrainian counter-offensive a disaster for Russia: how Putin involuntarily became an arms supplier
Apparently the United States is particularly interested in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
According to
Politico
, Russia has stationed hypersonic missiles in its territory between Poland and Lithuania.
In the past few weeks, American surveillance aircraft have been observed over the exclave.
Russia had recently repeatedly increased its arsenal of weapons in Kaliningrad.
(LP)
