According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Putin controls about 5,580 nuclear warheads.
Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia is technically ready for nuclear war and that if the United States sends troops to Ukraine, the move would be seen as a major escalation of the war.
Here are important facts about Russia’s nuclear arsenal:
nuclear superpower
Russia, which inherited Soviet nuclear weapons, has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads.
According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Putin controls about 5,580 nuclear warheads.
About 1,200 of them have been retired but remain largely intact, and about 4,380 are in storage for use by long-range strategic launchers and short-range tactical nuclear forces, according to the FAS.
Of the warheads in stock, 1,710 strategic warheads are deployed: about 870 for land-based ballistic missiles, about 640 for submarine-launched ballistic missiles and possibly 200 for heavy bomber bases, the FAS said.
Such numbers mean that Moscow could destroy the world many times over.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s peak number of nuclear warheads was about 40,000, while the United States’ peak number was about 30,000.
In what situations are they used?
Russia’s 2020 Nuclear Doctrine sets out the conditions under which the Russian president would consider using nuclear weapons: broadly as a response to an attack using nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or in response to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “in the most serious circumstances.” respond. The very existence of the country is threatened. “
newer nuclear weapons
The United States stated in the “2022 Nuclear Posture Review Report” that Russia and China are expanding and modernizing their nuclear forces, and Washington will adopt an arms control-based approach to prevent a costly arms race.
In its 2024 analysis of the Russian military, FAS said, “While Russia’s nuclear declarations and threatening rhetoric are deeply concerning, Russia’s nuclear arsenal and operations have changed little since our 2023 estimates, exceeding ongoing modernization process.”
“However, as single-warhead missiles are replaced by missiles equipped with multiple warheads, the number of warheads allocated to Russia’s strategic forces is likely to increase in the future,” the FAS said.
test
Putin said Russia would consider testing a nuclear weapon if the United States tested it.
Last year, he signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Post-Soviet Russia has yet to conduct a nuclear test.
According to the Arms Control Association, only a handful of countries have tested nuclear weapons since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991: the United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996, India and Pakistan in 1998, and North Korea in 2017 Year.
The Soviet Union last tested it in 1990.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed by Russia in 1996 and ratified in 2000. The United States signed the treaty in 1996 but has not yet ratified it.
Who will give the Russian launch order?
The Russian president is the final decision-maker on the use of Russian nuclear weapons.
The so-called nuclear briefcase, or “Cheget” (named after Mount Cheget in the Caucasus Mountains), is always with the president. Current Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and current Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov are also believed to possess such briefcases.
Essentially, the briefcase is a communications tool that connects the president to his military brass and, by extension, the rocket force through the highly secretive Kazbek electronic command and control network. Kazbek supports another system called “Kavkaz”.
A 2019 video broadcast by Russia’s Zvezda TV channel showed one of the briefcases with a series of buttons. In the section called “Commands” there are two buttons: a white “Start” button and a red “Cancel” button. According to Red Star newspaper, the briefcase is activated by a special flashcard.
If Russia believes it faces a strategic nuclear attack, the president will issue a direct launch order via briefcase to the General Staff and the reserve command forces who hold the nuclear codes. Such orders are quickly passed through different communication systems to the Strategic Rocket Forces, which then fire on the United States and Europe.
If a nuclear attack is confirmed, Putin could activate the so-called “Death Hand” or “Perimeter” system as a last resort: essentially, computers would decide the end of the world. A controlled rocket would order a nuclear strike against Russia’s vast arsenal.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
