Ships of the Russian Northern Fleet for the first time in 30 years began to go to sea with tactical nuclear weapons on board. This is stated in the annual report Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), published on February 13 on the agency’s website.
“The central part of the nuclear potential is located on the submarines of the Northern Fleet and surface ships,” the report says.
The Service publishes its assessment of risks and threats each year, which may be of particular importance to Norway in the current year. As noted in the document, the cases of the Northern Fleet warships with tactical nuclear weapons on a regular basis going to sea have not been known since the Cold War.
The report emphasizes that after the start of the special operation in Ukraine, “the importance of nuclear weapons for Russia has increased significantly.” At the same time, this weapon “poses a particularly serious threat in the options for operations” in which NATO countries can take part, intelligence noted.
Earlier, at the end of January, it was reported that the Swedish Ministry of Defense had prepared for a nuclear strike, which allegedly could be delivered by Russia, and had taken “a number of measures” in such a case.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, has repeatedly stated that nuclear weapons are a deterrent to protect the country. He emphasized that Moscow is aware of all the responsibility that accompanies the possession of nuclear weapons, and is not going to “bring them around.”
At the same time, on February 1, the Russian delegation at the plenary meeting of the UN Conference on Disarmament stated that the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine increases the likelihood of a clash of nuclear powers. Such support for Kyiv is at odds with statements by representatives of France, the United States and Great Britain about a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, they said.
In the same month, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the United States of America, in fact, unleashed an all-out hybrid war against Russia, which is fraught with real danger and could lead to a clash of two nuclear powers.
