Russian leader escalates nuclear rhetoric amid Ukraine tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently reminded the world of Russia's formidable nuclear capabilities in a year marked by escalating tensions and military posturing. 

President Putin has consistently wielded the threat of nuclear weapons, emphasizing Russia's status as the holder of the world's largest atomic arsenal to dissuade the West from increasing its support for Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He directed military exercises involving battlefield nuclear weapons in collaboration with Belarus.  

Putin also announced plans for Russia to produce ground-based intermediate-range missiles, previously banned under a US-Soviet treaty that was abandoned in 1987. Additionally, last month, he revised the country's nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for deploying nuclear weapons.  

By leveraging thousands of warheads and hundreds of missiles, Putin aims to counter NATO's significant advantage in conventional military capabilities, seeking to deter what he perceives as threats to Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Federation of American Scientists estimated this year that Russia possesses a total of 5,580 nuclear warheads, both deployed and non-deployed, while the US has 5,044. Together, they account for approximately 88 per cent of the world's nuclear arsenal. Most of these weapons are strategic or intercontinental-range systems. 

Like the US, Russia maintains a nuclear triad consisting of ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), long-range bombers, and submarines equipped with ICBMs.   Since Vladimir Putin assumed power in 2000, the Kremlin has focused on upgrading the Soviet-era components of this triad, deploying hundreds of new land-based missiles, commissioning new nuclear submarines, and modernizing nuclear-capable bombers. This modernization push has prompted the US to initiate its own costly arsenal upgrades.  

Russia has also re-equipped its land-based strategic missile forces with mobile Yars ICBMs and has recently begun deploying the heavy, silo-based Sarmat ICBMs—referred to as “Satan II” missiles in the West—gradually replacing around 40 Soviet-era R-36M missiles. The Sarmat has had only one confirmed successful test and reportedly experienced a significant explosion during a failed test last month. 

The navy has commissioned seven new Borei-class nuclear-powered submarines, each equipped with 16 Bulava nuclear-tipped missiles, and plans to construct five more.

These submarines are designed to be the backbone of the naval component of Russia's nuclear triad, alongside a handful of older Soviet-era submarines still in service.   Russia continues to utilize Soviet-built Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

The country has resumed production of the supersonic Tu-160, which had been halted after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, with plans to manufacture several dozen modernized versions featuring updated engines and avionics.  

Regarding non-strategic nuclear weapons, the US estimates that Russia possesses between 1,000 and 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons intended for battlefield use, which are generally less powerful than strategic warheads capable of leveling entire cities.

Additionally, Russia has high-precision ground-launched Iskander missiles with a range of up to 310 miles, which can be armed with either conventional or nuclear warheads.

By Naila Huseynova