Russia Drills for Nuclear War

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100310_7777.php ^

[kronos77]

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Email This Article Print This Article Print All Articles

Russia's strategic missile forces today launched a three-day drill expected to simulate the use of nuclear weapons, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, Sept. 9, 2009).

Russian military personnel would follow procedures in the nation's recently adopted military doctrine for dealing with nuclear and conventional conflict, said strategic missile forces spokesman Col. Vadim Koval (see GSN, Feb. 9).

"The SMF are conducting command-and-staff drills on March 10-12 in line with the annual training program," he said. "A total of more than 2,000 servicemen and 150 theater- and tactical-level command-and-control centers take part in the drills," Koval added.

The missile forces carried out 11 major drills and two strategic missile test-firings last year, according to RIA Novosti.

Within six years, Moscow intends to upgrade the command-and-control infrastructure of its strategic missile systems to make the nation's deterrent less susceptible to enemy missile interceptors and bolster the resilience of its delivery systems.

The Russian strategic missile forces possess 538 ICBMs, a number that includes 306 SS-25 Sickle missiles, 88 SS-18 Satan missiles and 56 Topol-M missiles, RIA Novosti reported (RIA Novosti, March 10).

ITAR-Tass, though, reported that the group holds 466 ICBMs that could carry 1,357 nuclear warheads (ITAR-Tass, March 10).

[kronos77]

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces conduct large-scale drills

© RIA Novosti. Mikhail Fomichev | Buy this image
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Strategic missile systems

Russia tests long-range missile

More than 2,000 servicemen from Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) are taking part in large-scale command-and-staff exercises that started on Wednesday, a military spokesman said.

“The SMF are conducting command-and-staff drills on March 10-12 in line with the annual training program,” Col. Vadim Koval said.

According to the official, the SMF will practice operations control in scenarios involving conventional and nuclear warfare under guidelines outlined by Russia’s new military doctrine.

“A total of more than 2,000 servicemen and 150 theater- and tactical-level command-and-control centers take part in the drills,” Koval said.

Russia plans to complete the modernization of the SMF’s command-and-control systems by 2016 in order to improve their ability to overcome missile defenses and increase the survivability of delivery vehicles.

The SMF conducted a total of 11 large-scale exercises and two test launches of strategic missiles in 2009.

The Strategic Missile Forces reportedly have a total of 538 ICBMs, including 306 SS-25 Sickle missiles, 88 SS-18 Satan and 56 SS-27 Topol-M missiles.

MOSCOW, March 10 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100310/158145420.html

[ronnyquest]

"The Russian strategic missile forces possess 538 ICBMs, a number that includes 306 SS-25 Sickle missiles, 88 SS-18 Satan missiles and 56 Topol-M missiles, RIA Novosti reported (RIA Novosti, March 10).

ITAR-Tass, though, reported that the group holds 466 ICBMs that could carry 1,357 nuclear warheads (ITAR-Tass, March 10)."

That we know about...

[F15Eagle]

I would say I’m surprised; but I’m not.

[F15Eagle]

fyi

[ronnyquest]

Anyone still think the Soviets just went away and abandoned nearly a century of long-term planning for world domination?

[Cindy]

Ditto.

[mowowie]

” 538 ICBMs”

I wonder how many are duds by now.

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

So? We do it regularly too. However, we call them “Exercises”.

[Nowhere Man]

Reforger 2010 anyone? B-)

[John-Irish]

Reminds me of an old Soviet era joke about nuclear war. “The Party say’s in the event of a nuclear strike, wrap yourself in a sheet and walk slowly to the cemetery’’. “Why slowly’’? “So as not to cause a panic’’.

[Nowhere Man]

I wonder how many are duds by now.

I wonder how many of those ICBM's have been sitting around since I was in high school (graduated 1985), or before?

[PIF]

Probably none. Russia has extensive nuclear warhead programs - as well as vast underground complexs and even underground cities dedicated to producing plutonium.

Russis does not want to dominate the world - just protect the Motherland. But it also wants year roundwarm water ports and to be the only superpower.

Sort of torn, they are.

However, their educational system beats the US none ways to Sunday. And out paces the US in all the research sciences - no onethere is studying global warming for instance (actually the Rusians were the first to warn about the long term Earth cooling trend - back in the 20’s I think and then again a few years ago).

[A.A. Cunningham]

Global Security Newswire

[Colorado Doug]

I'm so glad that Obama is trying to disarm us. That seems to be working real well with China and Russia.. /sarc

[ETL]

Russia does not want to dominate the world - just protect the Motherland.

Why then are they building up all those Marxist regimes in Latin America and threatening their old satellites? And also conducting three sets of war games with the ChiComs in the past five years?

"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
http://www.hooverdigest.org/053/beichman.html

_____________________________________________________

Russian nuclear bombers in Cuba?
July 23, 2008

The media has been abuzz today at the prospect of Russian nuclear bombers being stationed in Cuba if the US goes ahead with plans for missile defense bases in Eastern Europe.

The story has riled the US enough that a US general has been wheeled out to tell the world’s press that any Russian attempt to build another nuclear base in Cuba would cross US “red line”.

The story broke earlier this week, when Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted an un-named source from within the Russian military. He told the Russian daily:

“While they are deploying the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, our strategic bombers will already be landing in Cuba.”

The quote hasn’t been independently confirmed, but the Russian Defense Ministry added fuel to the fire when they refused to comment on the story.

The prospect of Russian nuclear forces being stationed in Cuba - which is, after all, only 90 miles from the US coast - would bring back some rather unpleasant memories for the US of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, where the Soviet Union under Nikita Kruschev launched an audacious and foolhardy bid to station nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island.

http://www.siberianlight.net/2008/07/23/russian-nuclear-bombers-cuba/
_____________________________________________________

Russia to help Cuba modernize weaponry, train military

September 18, 2009

HAVANA, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - Modernization of the Soviet-made military equipment and training of Cuban military personnel will be the focus of Russian-Cuban military cooperation in the near future, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Friday. Gen. Nikolai Makarov arrived on a working visit to Cuba on Monday, met with Cuban President Raul Castro and the country's military leadership, and visited a number of military installations.

"During the Soviet era we delivered a large number of military equipment to Cuba, and after all these years most of this weaponry has become obsolete and needs repairs," Makarov said.

"We inspected the condition of this equipment, and outlined the measures to be taken to maintain the defense capability of this country...I think a lot of work needs to be done in this respect, and I hope we will be able to accomplish this task," the general said.

Makarov said the Cuban request for assistance with training of military personnel will also be fully satisfied.

Although the Cuban leadership has repeatedly said it has no intention of resuming military cooperation with Russia after the surprise closure of the Russian electronic listening post in Lourdes in 2001, bilateral military ties seem to have been improving following the visit of Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to Cuba in July last year.

A group of Russian warships, led by the Admiral Chabanenko destroyer visited Cuba in December last year during a Caribbean tour.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090918/156170428.html
_____________________________________________________

Venezuela Set to Develop Nuclear Power With Russia
September 29, 2008
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Russia will help Venezuela develop nuclear energy — a move likely to raise U.S. concerns over increasingly close cooperation between Caracas and Moscow.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429441,00.html
_____________________________________________________

Venezuela's Chavez welcomes Russian warships
Nov 25, 2008
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela – Russian warships arrived off Venezuela's coast Tuesday in a show of strength aimed at the United States as Moscow seeks to expand its influence in Latin America. The deployment is the first of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War and was timed to coincide with President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Caracas — the first ever by a Russian president.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Venezuela%27s+Chavez+welcomes+Russian+warships%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2

More Yahoo search results for Russia and Venezuela connections:
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu_X30pZJCJEAfCtXNyoA?p=Russia+Venezuela+bombers+tanks+arms&y=Search&fr=404_news
_____________________________________________________

From National Public Radio (NPR):
August 29, 2006
"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been visiting countries such as China, Iran and Russia as part of an effort to build a 'strategic alliance' of interests not beholden to the United States. He considers the United States his arch enemy.":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5729764
_____________________________________________________

Russia and China have been holding joint war games every other year since 2005. The latest apparently took place on July 22-27 of this year.

"Russia and China will hold their joint military exercise on July 22-27 on the territories of the two countries. About 3,000 military men, 300 units of military hardware, over 40 planes and helicopters will take part in Peace Mission-2009 drills. About 1,500 servicemen, T-80 tanks, BMP-1 and BTR-70 armored vehicles, 22 aircraft, including two Il-76 cargo planes, five Su-24, five Su-25, five Su-27 fighters and five Mi-8 helicopters will represent Russia in the drills."

http://www.russiansentry.com/?area=postView&id=1409
_____________________________________________________

Russia, China hold Peace Mission 2009 joint exercise

The exercise involves about 3,000 Russian and Chinese servicemen, nearly 300 units of army military equipment and over 40 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Photo: BMP-86A infantry fighting vehicles of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

http://en.rian.ru/photolents/20090724/155604547.html
_____________________________________________________

[2009] Russia, China plan new joint military exercises

By MARTIN SIEFF, UPI Senior News Analyst
Published: March 26, 2009

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- The continuing tensions over Russia's refusal to sell its state-of-the-art land warfare advanced weapons systems to China hasn't interrupted the rhythm of major joint military exercises between the two major land powers on the Eurasian landmass. The latest in the regular, biennial series of exercises between the two nations has been confirmed for this summer.

The next in the now well-established series of exercises called Peace Mission 2009 will be carried out in northeastern China, the Russian Defense Ministry announced March 18, according to a report carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The first bilateral Peace Mission maneuvers -- described at the time as counter-terrorism exercises -- were held in Russia and the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in August 2005. As we reported at that time, they were a lot bigger than mere counter-terrorism exercises. Warships, squadrons of combat aircraft and more than 10,000 troops were involved carrying out landings against hypothetically hostile shores. The maneuvers also involved large-scale paratroops drops. The scale and nature of those exercises suggested a trial run for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan with Russian support. ..."

http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2009/03/26/Russia_China_plan_new_joint_military_exercises/UPI-25021238094858/
_____________________________________________________

Russia, China flex muscles in joint war games
August 17, 2007

CHEBARKUL, Russia (Reuters) - Russia and China staged their biggest joint exercises on Friday but denied this show of military prowess could lead to the formation of a counterweight to NATO.

"Today's exercises are another step towards strengthening the relations between our countries, a step towards strengthening international peace and security, and first and foremost, the security of our peoples," Putin said.

Fighter jets swooped overhead, commandos jumped from helicopters on to rooftops and the boom of artillery shells shook the firing range in Russia's Ural mountains as two of the largest armies in the world were put through their paces.

The exercises take place against a backdrop of mounting rivalry between the West, and Russia and China for influence over Central Asia, a strategic region that has huge oil, gas and mineral resources.

Russia's growing assertiveness is also causing jitters in the West. Putin announced at the firing range that Russia was resuming Soviet-era sorties by its strategic bomber aircraft near NATO airspace.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-29030120070817?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
_____________________________________________________

War Games: Russia, China Grow Alliance
September 23, 2005

In foreign policy it’s critical to “know thine enemy.” So American policymakers should be aware that Russia and China are inching closer to identifying a common enemy — the United States.

The two would-be superpowers held unprecedented joint military exercises Aug. 18-25. Soothingly named “Peace Mission 2005,” the drills took place on the Shandong peninsula on the Yellow Sea, and included nearly 10,000 troops. Russian long-range bombers, the army, navy, air force, marine, airborne and logistics units from both countries were also involved.

Moscow and Beijing claim the maneuvers were aimed at combating terrorism, extremism and separatism (the last a veiled reference to Taiwan), but it’s clear they were an attempt to counter-balance American military might.

Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092605a.cfm
_____________________________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
_____________________________________________________

From the Russian News and Information Agency:
July 27, 2006
"'I am determined to expand relations with Russia,' Chavez, known as an outspoken critic of what he calls the United States' unilateralism, told the Russian leader, adding that his determination stemmed from their shared vision of the global order.":
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060727/51913498.html
_____________________________________________________

"Total nuclear disarmament", Obama, Russia and the commie left
various sources

Posted on Sunday, July 05, 2009 12:51:21 PM ET by ETL:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285983/posts

[Thunder90]

Russia/Soviet/Coldwar2 PING!!!

To be added to or removed from this list, please Freepmail me...

[M. Espinola]

Not a peep from world leaders when Putin's neo-Soviet dictatorship openly displays ICBMs -- imagine if this same nuclear weapons first strike display paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue, what the immediate outcry would be, first from Moscow.

[PIF]

“Why then are they building up all those Marxist regimes “

No need for all the links - It is as I said Russia is sort of caught between what they want and who they are as a nation. It is the soul and nature of Russians who are more thoughtful than most Americans.

They see the US and the West as a threat and are returning the favor. So they stir up trouble where they can. Putin sees the colapse of the USSR in lights other than that implied in your quote. Much of it has to do with Russian pride and some a longing for the good old days.

That Russia is attempting to rise from the ashes is a good thing. We will need a strong Russia later against the Jihadis. They are - unlike US leaders - not squimish when it is necessary to get bloody.

Another important reason Putin is pushing Russia is their dwindling population - which I think has shrunk nearly 100 million since the 60s. Then there is the huge Islamic Russian population - not beloved by “white” Russians. It is quite possible, due to their low borth rates, high alcoholism etc, that in 20 years Russia will become a muslim state. You don’t want that.

Russia’s current strength and bothersome nature is a reflection of our current weakness under the Dems and Hussein.

[ETL]

No need for all the links

Of course there was a need. The links provided evidence as to what KGB Putin and company are really up to. Their goal is to reform the old Soviet Union, help Marxist dictatorships flourish and grow throughout Latin America and elsewhere, and, in their own words, create a "new global order". KGB Putin longs for the "good old days" of the former Soviet Union. Besides, you didn't necessarily have to go to the links. The links were included more to provide credibility to the alarming and telling excerpts. If people here relied only on what you wrote (there's nothing to worry about, etc), they would have a completely misguided view of what is going on.

Again...

"Joint war games [with China] are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants.""

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092605a.cfm
_____________________________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
_____________________________________________________

From the Russian News and Information Agency:
July 27, 2006
"'I am determined to expand relations with Russia,' Chavez, known as an outspoken critic of what he calls the United States' unilateralism, told the Russian leader, adding that his determination stemmed from their shared vision of the global order.":
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060727/51913498.html

[ETL]

That Russia is attempting to rise from the ashes is a good thing. We will need a strong Russia later against the Jihadis.

I didn't catch this earlier. Wow, you KGB-Putin-friendly guys are dangerous! I don't know why John lets you all stay on here pushing this blatantly obvious pro-Putin propaganda. There is a serious possibility that the KGB Putin government itself was behind many of those terror attacks there, or at least cooperated in some way, and that they were working with al-qaeda number two, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, prior to the 911 attacks. This is why the former KGB agent who spilled the beans on Putin and this plot was poisoned to death several years ago.

Now if you attempt to link this 'theory' to the whack-job Bush-Cheney 911 'inside job' conspiracy theories, I'd tell you the situation is not at all analogous, as it is way beyond the realm of possibility that Bush-Cheney would ever dream of such a devious plot in order to launch a war or whatever, but very much inline with the history of KGB/FSB. They even initiate deliberate misinformation/disinformation accusing us of doing things that they themselves are doing or have done to throw the clueless among us (most people) off track. It was they who started the CIA-created-the-AIDs-virus conspiracy theory that Obama's reverend Wright ran with. Not saying they were the ones who actually started the virus, but rather just using it as an example of the way they operate. They are masters at the sophisticated, complex game of chess, while most of us, unfortunately, can barely understand checkers. As a people, we are easily misled, deceived and manipulated. The most recent example of this is Obama winning over the hearts and minds of millions of Americans to win the presidency. It would be difficult to come up with a more convinceable example than this of the simplicity and gullibility of the American people. And it just seems to get worse with each new generation.

[PIF]

Dear ETL,
I've been involved on the classified side with all things Russian since the 60s so no I do not need links - perhaps they would be for others.

You really should learn more depth on Russia and the Russian mind set instead of simply looking at surface politics.

What is going on has been vastly distorted for decades - mostly due to the crumbling state of American educational system - and political leaders need for an enemy.

I do not support anything socialist herein just am talking about how Russians actually think and the distorted lens which most in the west filter them past.

There is always something to worry about when one has no focus and no leadership.

[ETL]

From the prestigious conservative website, Heritage.org...

Putin's Poison?
by Peter Brookes, November 27, 2006
The death of former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, last week from radioactive Polonium-210 poisoning is the latest in a series of politically motivated attacks on the outspoken opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed112706a.cfm
_____________________________________________________

Blowing up Russia: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror
by Alexander Litvinenko, Yuri Felshtinsky, Geoffrey Andrews and Co (Translator)

Synopsis: Blowing Up Russia contains the allegations of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko against his former spymasters in Moscow which led to his being murdered in London in November 2006. In the book he and historian Yuri Felshtinsky detail how since 1999 the Russian secret service has been hatching a plot to return to the terror that was the hallmark of the KGB. Vividly written and based on Litvinenko's 20 years of insider knowledge of Russian spy campaigns, Blowing Up Russia describes how the successor of the KGB fabricated terrorist attacks and launched a war. Writing about Litvinenko, the surviving co-author recounts how the banning of the book in Russia led to three earlier deaths.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Blowing-up-Russia/Alexander-Litvinenko/e/9781594032011
_____________________________________________________

Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian security agent fighting for his life in a UK hospital after allegedly being poisoned, has been a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin since before he became president in 2000.

Mr Litvinenko is thought to have been close to journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another opponent of the Kremlin who was shot dead last month, and said recently he was investigating her murder. It was after being handed documents apparently relating to the case that he was taken ill more than two weeks ago.

But he is perhaps best known for a book in which he alleges that agents co-ordinated the 1999 apartment block bombings in Russia that killed more than 300 people. He now appears to have fallen victim to the kind of plots which he wrote about.

Arrest

Mr Litvinenko, 43, first became a security agent under the Soviet-era KGB, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in its later incarnations.

He is reported to have fallen out with Vladimir Putin, then head of the security service, in the late 1990s, after failing in attempts to crack down on corruption within the organisation. In 1998, he first came to prominence by exposing an alleged plot to assassinate the then powerful tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who himself now lives in self-imposed exile in the UK. He was subsequently arrested on charges of abusing his office and spent nine months in a remand centre before being acquitted.

In 1999 he wrote Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within, in which he accused the current Russian security service, the FSB, of carrying out several apartment house bombings in 1999 that killed more than 300 people. The attacks, which Moscow blamed on Chechen rebels, helped swing public opinion behind Russia's second war in the breakaway republic.

Petrol bombs

Complaining of persecution, in 2000 Mr Litvinenko fled to the UK where he sought, and was granted, asylum. But after settling in an unnamed London suburb, the former spy continued to behave as if on the run, constantly changing his contact details. The Times newspaper reported that over the summer someone tried to push a pram loaded with petrol bombs at his front door. Appearing alongside high-profile opponents of President Putin, he has continued to make allegations about his former bosses. Perhaps most notably, he alleged that al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was trained by the FSB in Dagestan in the years before 9/11.

http://www.cicentre.com/Documents/litvinenko.html

[PIF]

Dear EDL.
You accuse me of something I'm not, and Impugn things I did not say.

You need to back up and understand real world politics - needing a strong Russia in the future is not a “pro-Putin propaganda” as you put it. Do you imagine that a weak Russia can be of any help against the estimated 120 million potential jihadis? What I'm saying is we need a future strong Russia (the country, not a particular system of government), not a future strong man (Putin) who is transitory at best.

Never take anything which comes out of Russia as proven - everything is a box within a box etc. The FSB replaced the KGB in ‘91 - long before 911. Especially anything regarding a direct attack on the US - too much risk. The only way the Russians would attack us would be a surprise all out thermonuclear one - and they have absolutely no reason to do so.

I'm quite aware of the rumor of Russian-Jihadi cooperation against the US, as well as the Chechen internal attacks. Beyond all of that, I'm just not buying the whole conspiracy bit - sometimes things are just what they seem and no more. With Russia, the more westerners look for a conspiracy, the more they will find, until lost in a maze which has no bearing on what is actually occurring.

“As a people, we are easily misled, deceived and manipulated.”
Internally, Americans find themselves feeling powerless ever since the educational system collapsed back in the mid 60s when our native communists began to reach critical mass.

And the same can be said for ‘foreign policy’: Americans have always behaved “stupidly” in world politics, but somehow managed to pull the bacon out of the fire before it was too late. That is not a judgment, just a fact.

[nw_arizona_granny]

nk you for pinging me.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you for pinging me.........