The nuclear pressure goes up another notch.
A train, linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense in charge of nuclear, and a submarine carrying the Poseidon nuclear missile, were seen moving in Russia.
Faced with a seemingly significant escalation, NATO would have alerted its members and allies, according to
The Times
.
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In its article, the British daily mentions the observations of Konrad Muzyka, a defense analyst based in Poland.
On his Twitter account, he posted a photo of a moving train, linked to the 12th unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense responsible for nuclear munitions, this Sunday, October 2.
According to him, this unit would be “
responsible for nuclear munitions, their storage, their maintenance, their transport and their distribution
”.
For the expert, several explanations are on the horizon: “
1) This could be a form of signal to the West that Moscow is stepping up.
2) Russian forces usually train intensively in the fall.
3) Russia could conduct a GROM strategic deterrence exercise in October, so this train could show readiness for this exercise
.”
"Nuclear Rhetoric"
In addition, NATO would have sent a report to its members and allies to alert them to Russia's plans, according to the Italian daily
La Repubblica
.
More particularly on the use of its nuclear-capable torpedo drone, the Poseidon, nicknamed “
the weapon of the apocalypse
”.
This weapon of mass destruction, carried in the Russian submarine K-329 Belgorod, is currently “
in the Arctic seas
”.
“
We fear that his mission is to test the super silent Poseidon for the first time
,” the newspaper wrote.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: does Russia have "more advanced" weapons than those of NATO?
Faced with these numerous accusations, the Kremlin insisted on retaliating.
The Reuters news agency reports that Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied any military exercise, denouncing Western countries as the source of "
nuclear rhetoric
".
“
Western media, Western politicians and heads of state are engaged in a lot of exercises in nuclear rhetoric right now.
We don't want to be part of that
,” he said.
Nuclear threats
These shows of force come after the Ukrainian army broke through Russian defenses in the Kherson region, largely occupied by the Russians for seven months.
During a ceremony in Moscow on Friday, September 30, Vladimir Putin ratified the annexation of four regions in eastern Ukraine: Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporijjia and Kherson.
Read alsoNuclear: who gives the order to fire in Russia?
In his offensive speech, the Russian president promised to defend these new lands “
with all the forces and all the means at our disposal
”.
Which includes nuclear weapons.
To justify himself, the head of the Kremlin accused the United States of having created "
a precedent
" by using atomic weapons to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Behind these threatening words, Vladimir Putin, who has a string of military defeats, seeks to thwart the advances of the Ukrainian forces towards the East.
