The European continent is tense after the announcement of Vladimir Putin, who is taking a new step on the military level. This Sunday, the Russian president announced to alert the “deterrent force” of the Russian army, which may include a nuclear component, on the fourth day of the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. “This is not a classic nuclear threat. This means that a set of actions will be taken so that Russia is quickly ready to use nuclear weapons,” Jean-Marie Collin told L’Express. , expert and co-spokesperson of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (I can), for France. The head of the Kremlin justified this decision by NATO’s “bellicose declarations” towards Russia. He took the opportunity to criticize the economic sanctions taken against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to him “illegitimate”.
Concretely, the Russian deterrent forces are a set of units whose purpose is to deter an attack against Russia, “including in the event of war involving the use of nuclear weapons”, according to the Ministry of Defense. Since the beginning of the Ukrainian invasion – which began on Thursday February 24 – the head of Moscow has not ceased to agitate the nuclear threat, referring several times to atomic weapons. Like his speech delivered on February 24, before the invasion of his neighbor: the head of state threatens those who oppose the conflict with “consequences that you have never known before”.
But what is the Russian nuclear arsenal made up of? “Russia is the second power in terms of military nuclear capability. It has just under 5,000 nuclear weapons (4,500 nuclear weapons according to the most recent figures)”, indicates Jean-Marie Collin.
Russian forces are equipped with missiles, strategic bombers, submarines and surface ships. On the defensive side, they include an anti-missile shield, space control systems, anti-aircraft and anti-satellite defense. Along with the Americans, the Russians are the only ones to possess the full range of strategic nuclear weapons. If nine countries have nuclear weapons, 90% of the world arsenal belong to Russia and the United States according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Jean-Marie Collin gives the details: “Of this arsenal, part is deployed permanently, in submarines in particular, another part is placed on the ground in ballistic missiles, others in nuclear trains… “In addition, Russia has the “Satan 2”, a nuclear missile capable of razing a country the size of France. Its action capacity can extend up to 10,000 kilometres.
“What will happen next?”
For the historical aspect, Russia acquired nuclear weapons in 1949. Moscow quickly engaged in a particularly aggressive race for nuclear arsenals until the beginning of the 1990s. Thus, Russian nuclear capabilities are well more important than those of France, since France has “only” less than 300 nuclear weapons. “But what is especially important to understand is that it would be enough to engage a fraction of this French or Russian arsenal to cause a global humanitarian catastrophe”, warns Jean-Marie Collin. One thing is certain: Vladimir Putin’s announcement marks a new turning point in this war.
On Twitter, researcher Corentin Sellin, associate professor of history, specialist in the United States, goes so far as to say that “we are now, perhaps, in the worst global geopolitical crisis since Cuba 1962.”
While the Russian troops come up against the resistance of the Ukrainian forces, Putin blows hot and cold, oscillating between a desire to negotiate and nuclear blackmail. “Where we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation is that after the escalation of words, we have an action that is taking place. What will happen next?” asks the expert. After Moscow’s announcement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced the “irresponsible” conduct of the Kremlin on Sunday. “It’s dangerous rhetoric. It’s conduct that is irresponsible,” he told CNN.
According to the organization’s secretary general, Vladimir Putin’s new statement comes on top of the “very aggressive” speech coming from Russia “for several months and particularly in the last two weeks”. For their part, the United States denounced this Sunday an “unacceptable” escalation by Moscow, Washington accusing Vladimir Putin of “manufacturing threats that do not exist”. Entering into force in January 2021, the treaty banning nuclear weapons had been ratified by 59 states. However, it has not been signed or ratified by the countries possessing atomic weapons. “We are paying the consequences today with a question about what Vladimir Putin can achieve,” said Jean-Marie Collin.