Russia appears ready for a potential nuclear escalation, according to a BBC report quoting a former officer who served at a top secret nuclear base. The officer named Anton, recalled the day Russia invaded Ukraine and how his base was placed on full combat alert. It lasted for two or three weeks before being lifted.
“Before that we had only exercises,” he said, “but on the day the war started, the weapons were fully in place. We were ready to launch the forces into sea and air and in theory carry out a nuclear strike.”
He disagreed with the assessment that Russia’s nuclear weapons, many dating back to the Soviet era, were functionally compromised.
“The country has an enormous nuclear arsenal, a huge amount of warheads including constant combat patrol on land, sea and air,” he said,
Anton, says the BBC report, was responsible for security on the base, access was strictly regulated and no personal phones were allowed.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (successor to the Soviet era KGB), vetted people months in advance and there were no civilians allowed on the base, only serving soldiers, not even conscripts, who were paid more than the normal soldiers.
Their duties were clearly outlined: their commitment was to the base, defend it from any attack. At all costs, Russia must be ready to carry out a nuclear strike when ordered.
Anton got into trouble when he claimed he refused to treat Ukrainians as combatants, not civilians, when ordered to do so. He was reprimanded and sent off to serve in an “assault brigade”, which usually operates on the front lines.
He got in touch with a volunteer organisation called Idite Lesom or Go by the Forest, which helps deserters flee the country. The group claims up to 350 soldiers contact them each month, seeking help to flee Russia, but not all make it.
Anton says “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.”
