Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally ordered his defense chief to put nuclear forces on high alert amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. The reason for the order was the attitude of Western countries that were not friendly with Moscow.
"I ordered the defense minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into special combat service mode," Putin said.
"You see that the West is not only unfriendly to our country on the economic front - I mean sanctions are illegal," he said in a televised address.
"Senior officials from leading NATO countries have also allowed aggressive statements against our country," he added.
Defense Minister Shoigu immediately responded to Putin's orders: "Agreed." What is a nuclear force officially known as a deterrence force? Just as in NATO, some of Russia's nuclear weapons are in constant readiness.
"And it can be launched in 10 minutes," said Marc Finaud, nuclear proliferation expert at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, as quoted by The Moscow Times, Monday (28/2/2022).
"Either the warheads are already mounted on the missiles, or the bombs are already on the bombers and submarines," he explained.
Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said Russia has about 6,000 nuclear weapons. That's the most in the world, as the United States has about 5,500 units.
The weapon was capable of killing billions of people, but it also served as a deterrent to enemy attacks. The world's nuclear arsenal, including Russia, usually focuses on the nuclear triad, namely atomic weapons for ground, air, and naval forces.
The nuclear weapons are operated by the Strategic Rocket Force, a separate branch of the Russian military. They are in charge of Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), of which there are about 310 ICBMs that can carry up to 1,189 nuclear warheads.
The maritime component of Russia's nuclear triad is focused on about ten submarines, mainly of the Delta and Borei classes, each of which can pack 16 submarine-launched ballistic missiles but with multiple warheads.
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Russia's nuclear submarine force can carry about 624 nuclear warheads. The air component of the Russian nuclear triad is based on the Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear heavy bombers.
With between 50 and 70 strategic bombers in its arsenal, Russia has a strong air option in the event of a nuclear war. These aircraft can carry 12 to 16 AS-15 cruise missiles which are armed with nuclear warheads and are undergoing a modernization program to increase their stealth and arsenal capabilities.
Not only that, the country also has a 5th generation PAK-DA stealth bomber which is slated to replace the old bombers.
