Ships of the Russian Northern Fleet began sailing for the first time in 30 years with tactical nuclear weapons on board. yearly on this report reported the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS).
According to the document, in Soviet times, warships of the Northern Fleet regularly sailed with tactical nuclear weapons, but no such cases have been known since the Cold War. According to intelligence, the importance of nuclear weapons for Russia “significantly increased” after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.
“The central portion of the nuclear potential is located in submarines and surface ships of the Northern Fleet,” the report says.
According to intelligence, these weapons “constitute a particularly serious threat to operational options” in which NATO countries can participate.
Former Russian President Vladimir Putin declarationthat the ability to defend the country with nuclear weapons is a deterrent.
Prior to that, former CIA director David Petraeus suggestedThat the United States would destroy Russian troops and the Black Sea Fleet if Russia used nuclear weapons. He said Putin’s nuclear threats should be taken seriously because “the reality of the battlefield he is facing is irreversible.”