{"id":18915,"date":"2024-11-26T05:37:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T05:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18915"},"modified":"2024-11-26T05:37:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T05:37:14","slug":"russian-deserter-reveals-war-secrets-of-guarding-nuclear-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18915","title":{"rendered":"Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"RussianRussian defence ministry<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A ballistic missile on a nuclear base in Russia<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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On the day of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Anton says the nuclear weapons base he was serving at was put on full combat alert.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore that, we had only exercises. But on the day the war started, the weapons were fully in place,\u201d says the former officer in the Russian nuclear forces. \u201cWe were ready to launch the forces into the sea and air and, in theory, carry out a nuclear strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

I met Anton in a secret location outside Russia. For his own protection, the BBC will not reveal where. We have also changed his name and are not showing his face.<\/p>\n

Anton was an officer at a top-secret nuclear weapons facility in Russia.<\/p>\n

He has shown us documents confirming his unit, rank and base.<\/p>\n

The BBC is unable to independently verify all the events he described, although they do chime with Russian statements at the time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The former officer (L) talked to the BBC in a secret location – his face has been blurred to hide his identity<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Three days after troops poured over Ukraine\u2019s borders, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia\u2019s nuclear deterrence forces had been ordered into a \u201cspecial mode of combat service\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Anton says that combat alert was in place on day one of the war and claims his unit was \u201cshut inside the base\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll we had was Russian state TV,\u201d says the former officer, \u201cI didn\u2019t really know what it all meant. I automatically carried out my duties. We weren\u2019t fighting in the war, we were just guarding the nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state of alert was cancelled, he adds, after two to three weeks.<\/p>\n

Anton\u2019s testimony offers an insight into the top-secret inner workings of the nuclear forces in Russia. It is extremely rare for service members to talk to journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a very strict selection process there. Everyone is a professional soldier \u2013 no conscripts,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are constant checks and lie-detector tests for everyone. The pay is much higher, and the troops aren\u2019t sent to war. They\u2019re there to either repel, or carry out, a nuclear strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former officer says life was tightly controlled. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my responsibility to ensure the soldiers under me didn\u2019t take any phones on to the nuclear base,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a closed society, there are no strangers there. If you want your parents to visit, you need to submit a request to the FSB Security Service three months in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"RussianRussian defence ministry<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Soldiers guarding a patrol on a nuclear base are specially trained<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Anton was part of the base\u2019s security unit – a rapid-reaction force that guarded the nuclear weapons. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had constant training exercises. Our reaction time was two minutes,\u201d he says, with a hint of pride.<\/p>\n

Russia has around 4,380 operational nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists, but only 1,700 are \u201cdeployed\u201d or ready for use. All the Nato member states combined possess a similar number.<\/p>\n

There are also concerns about whether Putin could choose to deploy \u201cnon-strategic\u201d, often called tactical, nuclear weapons. These are smaller missiles that generally don\u2019t cause widespread radioactive fallout. <\/p>\n

Their use would nevertheless lead to a dangerous escalation in the war.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin has been doing all it can to test the West\u2019s nerves.<\/p>\n

Only last week Putin ratified changes to the nuclear doctrine – the official rules dictating how and when Russia can launch nuclear weapons. <\/p>\n

The doctrine now says Russia can launch if it comes under \u201cmassive attack\u201d from conventional missiles by a non-nuclear state but \u201cwith the participation or support of a nuclear state\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Russian officials say the updated doctrine “effectively eliminates” the possibility of its defeat on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

But is Russia\u2019s nuclear arsenal fully functional?<\/p>\n

Some Western experts have suggested its weapons mostly date from the Soviet era, and might not even work.<\/p>\n

The former nuclear forces officer rejected that opinion as a \u201cvery simplified view from so-called experts\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere might be some old-fashioned types of weapons in some areas, but the country has an enormous nuclear arsenal, a huge amount of warheads, including constant combat patrol on land, sea and air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s nuclear weapons were fully operational and battle-ready, he maintained. \u201cThe work to maintain the nuclear weapons is carried out constantly, it never stops even for one minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after the full-scale war began, Anton said he was given what he describes as a \u201ccriminal order\u201d – to hold lectures with his troops using very specific written guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said that Ukrainian civilians are combatants and should be destroyed!\u201d he exclaims. \u201cThat\u2019s a red line for me – it\u2019s a war crime. I said I won\u2019t spread this propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior officers reprimanded Anton by transferring him to a regular assault brigade in another part of the country. He was told he would be sent to war.<\/p>\n

These units are often sent in to battle as the \u201cfirst wave\u201d and a number of Russian deserters have told the BBC that \u201ctroublemakers\u201d who object to the war have been used as \u201ccannon fodder\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Russian embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Before he could be sent to the front line, Anton signed a statement refusing to take part in the war and a criminal case was opened against him. He showed us documents confirming his transfer to the assault brigade and details of the criminal case.<\/p>\n

He then decided to flee the country with the help of a volunteer organisation for deserters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had run away from the nuclear forces base, then the local FSB Security Service would\u2019ve reacted decisively and I probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to leave the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he believes that, because he had been transferred to an ordinary assault brigade, the system of top-level security clearance failed.<\/p>\n

Anton said he wanted the world to know that many Russian soldiers were against the war.<\/p>\n

The volunteer organisation that helps deserters, \u201cIdite Lesom\u201d [‘Go by the Forest’, in English, or ‘Get Lost’] has told the BBC that the number of deserters seeking help has risen to 350 a month.<\/p>\n

The risks to those fleeing are growing, too. At least one deserter has been killed after fleeing abroad, and there have been several cases of men being forcibly returned to Russia and put on trial.<\/p>\n

Although Anton has left Russia, he says security services are still looking for him there: \u201cI take precautions here, I work off the books and I don\u2019t show up in any official systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he has stopped speaking to his friends at the nuclear base because he could put them in danger: \u201cThey must take lie-detector tests, and any contact with me could lead to a criminal case.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he is under no illusion about the risk he is himself in by helping other soldiers to flee. <\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the more I do that, the higher the chances they could try and kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian defence ministry A ballistic missile on a nuclear base in Russia On the day of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Anton says the nuclear weapons base he was serving at was put on full combat alert. \u201cBefore that, we had only exercises. But on the day the war started, the weapons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}