RUSSIAN ARSENAL. Russia is openly attacking civilian infrastructure and using high-powered, sometimes banned, weapons in its war against Ukraine. To the risk of recourse to a nuclear weapon is added that of a chemical weapon. Does Putin still have tricks up his sleeve?
[Mis à jour le 11 mars 2022 à 17h56] Despite the deployment of humanitarian corridors, the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians is prevented by Russian strikes, which are nevertheless prohibited in these areas. Russia’s willingness to attack civilian targets is no longer in doubt because since the second week of the war, attacks and bombardments launched on residential areas, hospitals, schools and green corridors have multiplied. In Mariupol, only ruins remain of the maternity ward targeted by a missile on the evening of March 9, and in Kharkiv a facility for the disabled was violently hit by an air raid two days later Weapons used by Russian forces reflect also the Kremlin’s strategy of inflicting heavy civilian casualties to bring down the government in Kyiv. On Thursday, March 10, the wreckage of a high-explosive cluster incendiary bomb, OFZAB-500, was identified by the Ukrainian state emergency service, confirming the doubts already present about Russia’s use of this weapon whose defensive and offensive use is strictly prohibited by international law.
In Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, a downed enemy plane was equipped with two OFZAB-500 bombs. The release of such a weapon can destroy everything for miles around by combining the blast, fragmentation and thermal effects of a bomb. The discovery of the device implies that Moscow is equipped with prohibited weapons and proves that Russia has not yet revealed all its cards in this war. The international community is now wondering about the potential chemical weapons that Russia may have in its possession. The question must be asked in the Kremlin on March 11 during the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. In recent hours, Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of working hand in hand with Ukraine on the manufacture of a chemical weapon. Faced with these accusations Volodymyr Zelensky contented himself with denying it and the Americans threw stones at the Russians, explaining that Moscow’s suspicion was a ploy to justify the use of a Russian chemical weapon.
A powerful army, soon joined by volunteer fighters?
With 900,000 soldiers who form the ranks of the Russian army and can be joined by as many reservists, 2,000 tanks and more than 5,500 infantry vehicles, not to mention the nuclear arsenal, the means of the Russian army are colossal and far exceed those of Ukraine. But to compensate for the lack of Ukrainian soldiers, Volodymyr Zelensky thought of creating a foreign legion made up of foreign fighters who had volunteered to defend the country against the Russians. According to Kiev, 20,000 have already joined the new military unit. Out of the question for Vladimir Putin to be outdone, so he asked this Friday, March 11 to facilitate the sending of “volunteer” fighters to the Ukrainian battlefield, following up on the request of his Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, who said earlier in the week that 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East, including Syrians, were ready to join the fight alongside Russian forces. The master of the Kremlin also explains that his decision is a response to the sending to Ukraine of “mercenaries” by the “Western sponsors of the Ukrainian regime”. However, no public decision by the European Union or NATO refers to sending armed men to Ukraine.
The Satan 2 missile, what is it?
In appearance, the black cylinder takes up the characteristics of intercontinental ballistic missiles except that its dimensions are exaggeratedly large: 30 meters long for more than a hundred tons. Its size allows it to be heavily loaded with twelve nuclear warheads and inflict unparalleled damage. According to Russian communications, a single Satan 2 missile could, in just a few seconds, wipe out a territory of 10,000 kilometers and wipe France or the state of Texas off the map with a single bombardment. Information to be taken with precaution, a share of propaganda being at work in the Russian media. In study and in production for several years, the Satan 2 or RS-28 Sarmat of its real name has been ready since 2021 to be deployed by the Russian military forces in the event of a conflict. Satan 2 missiles are not only feared for their strike force. The devices resulting from the new technology have, still according to Russian information, a stealth mode capable of escaping the vigilance of air radars. Their trajectory has also been designed to complicate their destruction by anti-aircraft defense systems.
The artillery weapon sends shivers down the spine, but before using the presumed most powerful missile in the world’s military arsenal, Russia has other cards to play. Satan 2 appears to be the attack of last resort and “the Russians do not consider themselves in such danger as to have to use such weapons, it would take a massive attack on Russian territory for that”, according to the military analyst and specialist in the Russian army, Vincent Tourret, interviewed by the Parisian. Joseph Henrotin, he excludes the risk considering that the missile “would not yet be in service”.
500, 2,500 km, what are the ranges of Russian missiles?
In addition to Satan 2, Russia has different types of missiles and it has not hesitated to drop a few dozen on Ukraine since the invasion of February 24, 2022. We know from the Russian arsenal the missiles Iskander, Kalibr and cruise missiles. The first allow firing between 100 and 500 kilometers and are launched from land vehicles. Kalibr missiles offer longer range firings up to 2,500 kilometers and generally launch from the sea, finally cruise missiles are shells dropped by air. For each weapon, it is possible to launch conventional or nuclear attacks by loading them with atomic warheads.
Cluster munitions are weapons of another category widely decried and prohibited by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. These missiles are in fact containers which house and drop in flight several explosive projectiles called “sub-munitions”. Unlike precision strikes, these random shots can strike anywhere and often result in civilian deaths. The NGOs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have suspected for several days that cluster munitions were used by Russia to carry out the offensive on Ukraine, which would constitute a “war crime” according to Joseph Henrotin.
More than 6000 nuclear warheads, what are the Russian nuclear forces?
Russia has the largest number of nuclear warheads: 6,225, according to the‘stockholm international peace research institute. However, among these thousands of warheads, some are not operational, others in maintenance and others still at the end of their life awaiting dismantling. The fact remains that 1600 missiles are “deployed”, ready to be launched at any time. Most nuclear weapons are intercontinental ballistic missiles, understand capable of being sent more than 3,000 kilometers and at very high speed. In addition to being able to launch attacks over – very – long distances, Russia can, thanks to its bombers, its submarines and its surface ships, send a nuclear bomb from where it wishes.
According to information from NATO, Russia is still working to optimize its nuclear arsenal with the manufacture of a hypersonic missile flying at extreme speed at low altitude and capable of maneuvering in midair to thwart the tracing of bombs by the enemy. These missiles of a new kind are still in the test phase but remain a threat to be taken into account.
Thermobarics, potential or imminent danger?
Russia’s heavy artillery strikes impress the world, and for good reason: rocket launchers such as the TOS-1, the TOS-1A, produced and used since the 1980s, or the TOC-1A, its latest version. newer one produced in 2003 and which has 30 more rocket launchers, are capable of firing missiles with thermobaric warheads, in other words vacuum bombs. These bombs are weapons of the conventional type which are based on the combination of thermal effects, shock waves and depression: heat and pressure are thus the two effects produced by these bombs. As the level of alert intensifies almost everywhere, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN accuse, on February 28, Russia of having used these thermobaric bombs. the Korii mediaSlate’s site dedicated to new technologies, also recalls that “TOS-1 are the most devastating conventional weapons that can be used in a conflict”.
However, some Russian weapons are not actually deployed on the ground, as recalled Capital. If the videos showing Russian soldiers handling TOC-1A rocket launchers fuse on social networks, it is not proven that this type of destructive armament is really used in the conflict. In addition, the Russian equipment, if very rich, is not fully mobilized, like the New Tank T-14 Armata, a new modern tank not yet deployed, the first operational units having yet arrived at the end of 2021 .
Does Russia have an air defense system?
If it is equipped with a large offensive arsenal, Russia has also invested in defensive technologies against the air attacks that can be inflicted on it. In particular, it has attack helicopters such as MI-17 troop transport aircraft, including the famous Kamov KA-52 “Alligator”, a high-performance combat helicopter with a day/night capability, designed to destroy tanks , to attack other enemy helicopters, but above all to guarantee a high degree of protection for the crew. Since 2021, Moscow has benefited from the S-500 Prometei anti-aircraft missile system, considered to be one of the most efficient in the world. The device is capable of destroying all types of targets, aircraft, drones but also intercontinental or hypersonic ballistic missiles and is able to engage 10 simultaneous defensive responses.
Accusations of possession and use of weapons, whether chemical or nuclear, are rampant in this war. At a time when the Kremlin accuses the Ukrainian laboratories of being carrying out military research on biological weapons with the help of the Americans, Volodymyr Zelensky replies by suspecting the Kremlin in turn. Washington also expressed its concerns, followed by British President Boris Johnson who estimated on March 10 that the “barbaric” regime in Moscow could use chemical weapons in Ukraine. Do Russians Really Have Chemical Weapons? Russia is one of 198 signatories to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, but it has also officially completed the destruction of 100% of its tons of chemical weapons. However, Westerners have attributed to Moscow two poisonings with Novichok, a nerve agent: one targeting Russian opponent Alexei Navalny in 2020, the other targeting Russian spy Sergei Skripal. Moreover, Russia has been very complacent with the Bashar-El-Assad regime by refusing to acknowledge that it had repeatedly used chemical weapons such as sarin gas, chlorine or mustard gas against its civilian populations. As for ensuring that Russia could use these weapons in this conflict, there is no proven evidence.