Risks of Russia using nuclear weapons constantly exist, but the current state of Russia’s nuclear arsenal raises questions, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview, declining to estimate how big is the risk that Moscow will resort to nuclear weapons at the present time. Evoking a discussion with the former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchima, under which the transfer from Kyiv to Russia of nuclear weapons left over from the Soviet era was completed (according to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum ), the Ukrainian minister stated that even if Ukraine had not given Moscow those nuclear weapons, their validity would have expired in 1997 anyway. “They should have been decommissioned and destroyed. We gave them all to Russia. Therefore, the question is: in what condition is this junk in Russia?” Oleksii Reznikov said.
According to Reznikov, Satan missiles (manufactured at factories in Ukraine during the USSR) are still in service with the Russian military. “We were still manufacturing them 40 years ago. And the question arises: who serves them, according to which instructions and how old are the engineers who deal with them? Therefore, the button could be pressed, but the explosion could occur right there, on the spot”, opined the Ukrainian defense minister.
Western intelligence services have intensified their surveillance of Russia’s nuclear arsenal in recent days in order to be on the lookout in case Russian President Vladimir Putin gives the order for the use of nuclear weapons, after the latest threats from Moscow.
At the same time, the US considers that the use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia is unlikely. But the risk is certainly higher than last year or even in June, according to Russian military expert Pavel Luzin.
Russian authorities have hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and these threats have increased in intensity in recent weeks, reports Nastoiaşcee Vremea, a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. and Voice of America.
Announcing the “partial” mobilization on September 21, Putin threatened to use “all the means at Russia’s disposal” to defend its territorial integrity. “It’s not a bluff!” he added.
Western politicians and intelligence agencies say that while there are no signs of nuclear deployment at this time, Putin’s threats should be taken seriously. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the Russian president’s statement should be taken into account.
“Don’t ignore the siren in case of a possible nuclear strike, go to the underground shelters urgently. Only this can save you!”, can be heard these days in Kyiv, reports the TV station quoted on its website. The city center is one of the most dangerous places in the event of a nuclear attack, according to him.
The underground shelters are located at the entrance to the blocks and can only be reached through an intercom code. Foreigners cannot enter there. But some are open, so you can find basements full of cobwebs, but with traces that not long ago there were people here (who hid from the Russian missile attacks), in some places even some water remained drinking.
For the first time in Kyiv, a possible nuclear attack by Russia was discussed a few months ago. That’s when potassium iodide pills, which are believed to help with radiation contamination, disappeared from pharmacies. But now there are a lot of such drugs, they can be found in any pharmacy.
In general, the residents of the Ukrainian capital calmly treat the threat of a nuclear strike, in most cases they believe that the West will not allow Putin to resort to such a crazy gesture, according to the same television station.
(www.agerpres.ro)
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