"Putin presses the nuclear button", Russia shows its strongest nuclear strike force and warns its opponents not to act rashly
[Global Times reporter Zhang Yuqingmu Guo Yuandan Liu Yupeng] The strategic missile force launched the "Yars" intercontinental ballistic missile from land, the nuclear submarine launched the "Dark Blue" intercontinental ballistic missile under the Barents sea, and the strategic bomber air-fired multiple cruise missiles... …On the 9th, under the command of President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s “triad” strategic nuclear forces conducted missile launch training and demonstrated the strongest and most powerful “housekeeping skills” of Russia’s nuclear strike.
Some Western media quickly label it as "showing off nuclear power," but Russia obviously doesn't care about it.
In the face of continuous containment by the United States and NATO, Russia has been vigorously developing advanced strategic weapons in recent years.
Especially in the context of the US-Russian "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" which is about to expire in February next year, and the two sides have been unable to agree on an extension of the treaty, Russia's demonstration of nuclear counterattack power is also warning its opponents not to act rashly.
"Putin presses the nuclear button"
According to a report by the Russian "Izvestia" on the 10th, the Russian Defense Ministry said on the 9th that under the personal command of President Putin, the Russian Strategic Missile Force, the Strategic Air Force, and the nuclear submarines of the North Sea Fleet participated in the missile launch exercise that day.
During the exercise, the Russian strategic missile force launched a "Yars" land-based strategic missile at the Plesetsk launch site, and the strategic nuclear submarine "Karelia" of the Northern Fleet launched 50 meters below the Barents Sea. A "deep blue" submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile.
In addition, the Tu-160 and Tu-955MS strategic bombers took off from different bases and launched several X-101 and X-555 new cruise missiles, hitting targets in the range.
"Putin presses the nuclear button." The Russian "Free Media" website uses this as the title. The Russian "Trinity" nuclear power exercise has scared many people, but it is not surprising. This move is to keep Russia’s nuclear power alive. The level of combat readiness.
Russia’s Vesti news channel stated that the main strategic strike forces of the Russian military conducted large-scale exercises and all launch missions were successfully completed.
During the exercise, Russia's most advanced "Yars" mobile intercontinental ballistic missile was launched, and the missile hit the target at the Kula training field on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The missile has a range of up to 11,000 to 12,000 kilometers.
"Izvestia" stated that the "Deep Blue" submarine-launched missile can carry several nuclear warheads with a range of 11,500 kilometers.
The missile was fired at the Kula training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula and hit a target 5,500 kilometers away within about half an hour.
"Russia" said on the 10th that experts said that similar strategic missile launch exercises are not often conducted because such exercises are very expensive and require additional security measures.
But without this kind of training, it would be impossible to test the readiness of Russia's "triad" nuclear strike force.
According to Interfax, the US Air Force RC-135S strategic reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Bering Sea near the Russian border for several hours during the Russian strategic nuclear force exercise to track the launch trajectory of Russian intercontinental missiles.
The US "Newsweek" reported on this Russian exercise under the title "Russian troops launch missiles from land, sea and air to show off their nuclear power."
According to the article, the Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video of more than two minutes to show the country's "triad" of land, sea and air nuclear assets.
"Send a signal to NATO," German news television said that observers believe that Russia's exercise demonstrated strong nuclear strike capabilities, and its audience target is the US-led NATO organization.
This is also the biggest military move shown by Russia after the United States officially withdrew from the "Open Skies Treaty" last month.
"It can be said that this exercise has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Russia's strategic weapons, including the trump card equipment capable of nuclear strikes." A Chinese military expert told the Global Times reporter on the 10th that during the exercise, Russia Land-based, sea-based, and space-based "triad" strategic nuclear forces have all participated, demonstrating strong deterrence, especially the secondary nuclear counterattack capability.
This is very important for Russia.
The relationship between Russia and the West has been relatively tense. The United States has continuously demonstrated nuclear deterrence and nuclear strike capabilities this year. It has repeatedly tested the "Minuteman-3" intercontinental ballistic missile and launched the submarine-launched "Trident" from the "Ohio"-class strategic nuclear submarine. Type ballistic missile.
At the same time, the United States has taken an irresponsible attitude on the issue of arms control treaties, and even wants to develop intermediate-range ballistic missiles against Russia. Russia’s strategic security environment has deteriorated. Therefore, Russia hopes to show its nuclear power by demonstrating its counterattack capabilities. The image of stunned opponents.
"A real risk of military confrontation"
Due to long-term pressure from the United States and NATO, Russia has always attached great importance to the development of strategic weapons.
Putin has publicly praised Russia's "super weapons" in recent years, such as the "Salmat" heavy intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, and the "Pioneer" hypersonic missile that can fly at 20 times the speed of sound.
In the view of analysts, no matter how innovative the fancy is, the "triad" strategic nuclear force will be the pillar of Russia's deterrence for a long time.
On the 7th, the Russian "Newspaper" published a report entitled "Half of the Russians feel the threat of nuclear war." According to a poll published by the Russian Social Media Foundation, 53% of Russians believe that the world is threatened by military conflicts using nuclear weapons. .
The Russian "Economy Today" website quoted the analysis of Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the Russian "Defense" magazine, saying that Russia hopes to maintain a strategic nuclear balance with the United States.
Now the Russia-US "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" is about to expire, but the United States has no intention to extend this treaty and put forward some conditions that Russia cannot accept.
In this regard, Russia must respond to the United States in response to the provocations of the United States and NATO.
NATO continues to hype the threat posed by Russia.
Deutsche Radio said on the 10th that NATO recently released a new document "NATO 2030", which aims to create a new strategy for NATO in the next 10 years.
The new document states that in the next 10 years, Russia will still “may be the main military threat to the alliance”.
The Times said on the 8th that the British think tank "European Leadership Network" warned in an open letter that the relationship between NATO and Russia is at its lowest point since the Cold War, exacerbating the "real risk of military confrontation" and calling on both sides to re-establish Contact regularly.
145 former ministers and ambassadors of European countries, the United States and Russia signed.
On the 10th, ITAR-Tass reported a relatively positive news.
Russia will send warships to participate in the "Peace-2021" international naval exercise to be held near the coast of Pakistan in February next year. NATO countries such as the United States and Britain will also participate. This will be the first time a Russian warship has "joined action" with NATO warships in the past decade.
The U.S. does not "renew its contract" and the world is worried
The delay of the US authorities to agree to the extension of the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" has particularly dissatisfied the Russian side and has also made the world worried.
"Washington Post" stated that Russia has intensified military exercises in recent years. This strategic nuclear force exercise is less than two months before the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" expires in early February next year.
Moscow and Washington have discussed extending the agreement, but they still have differences.
The "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads deployed by the United States and Russia shall not exceed 1,550, and the total number of deployed ballistic missiles and heavy bombers shall not exceed 700.
Since the Trump administration successively announced the abolition of the "Intermediate Range Treaty" and "Open Skies Treaty", the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" is currently the only arms limitation treaty between the United States and Russia.
The US "Newsweek" stated on the 9th that Russia is considered to have the world's largest nuclear arsenal, but the number of nuclear weapons is restricted by the "New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty."
The agreement will expire on February 4 next year.
Putin proposed to unconditionally extend the term of the treaty and freeze production of nuclear warheads for one year, but negotiations between Washington and Moscow to extend the agreement have so far failed.
Once the treaty expires, there will be no arms control agreement between the United States and Russia for the first time since the middle of the Cold War.
The Associated Press stated that arms control advocates warned that after the treaty expires, any inspections of US and Russian nuclear forces will also be cancelled, which will have a blow to global stability.
National Public Radio said on the 9th that Lynn Rusten, who was in charge of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in the Obama administration, will compare the urgency of renewing the treaty with the urgency of fighting the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
She said that a year ago, people would think that a global pandemic was unimaginable, and the same is true of nuclear weapons now.
"There are still 13,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Most, but not all, belong to the United States and Russia. Our relationship is deteriorating. Therefore, there is a real risk of using them."