The document discusses the threat posed by a Russian victory in Ukraine. It describes a recent drone attack by Ukraine on the Engels Air Base in Russia, which hosts long-range bombers that have been striking targets in Ukraine. The base is also believed to store hundreds of nuclear warheads in underground bunkers located near the runways. While there was little risk of a nuclear detonation from the drone attack, the presence of nuclear weapons at a base targeting Ukraine serves as a reminder of how dangerous the war remains, and the threat posed by a Russian victory that could empower their nuclear arsenal.
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The Greatest Nuclear Threat We Face Is a Russian Victory - The Atlantic
The document discusses the threat posed by a Russian victory in Ukraine. It describes a recent drone attack by Ukraine on the Engels Air Base in Russia, which hosts long-range bombers that have been striking targets in Ukraine. The base is also believed to store hundreds of nuclear warheads in underground bunkers located near the runways. While there was little risk of a nuclear detonation from the drone attack, the presence of nuclear weapons at a base targeting Ukraine serves as a reminder of how dangerous the war remains, and the threat posed by a Russian victory that could empower their nuclear arsenal.
The document discusses the threat posed by a Russian victory in Ukraine. It describes a recent drone attack by Ukraine on the Engels Air Base in Russia, which hosts long-range bombers that have been striking targets in Ukraine. The base is also believed to store hundreds of nuclear warheads in underground bunkers located near the runways. While there was little risk of a nuclear detonation from the drone attack, the presence of nuclear weapons at a base targeting Ukraine serves as a reminder of how dangerous the war remains, and the threat posed by a Russian victory that could empower their nuclear arsenal.
Putin’s blackmail is dangerous; its success would be even worse. By Eric Schlosser January 18, 2023 Anton Petrus / Getty; Getty; Anthony Gerace
On the morning of December 5, 2022, a large explosion
occurred at Engels Air Base, about 500 miles southeast of Moscow. The airfield is one of the two principal bases in Russia that host long-range strategic bombers. TU-160 Blackjacks have been taking off from Engels for the past 10 months, carrying cruise missiles and firing them at cities in Ukraine. The explosion was caused by a Ukrainian drone, and it reportedly damaged two TU-95 Bears, enormous turbo-prop bombers that have been a symbol of the Kremlin’s airpower since the early 1950s. Most of the reporting on the drone attack focused on the boldness of it, the failure of Russian air defenses, and the impact on Russian morale. But the attack had a broader significance that went largely unnoticed.
About four miles from the runway at Engels where the
explosion occurred, a pair of underground bunkers is likely to contain nuclear warheads, with a capacity to store hundreds of them. Blackjacks and Bears were designed during the Cold War for nuclear strikes on NATO countries, and they still play that role in Russian war plans. The drone attack on Engels was a milestone in military history: the world’s first aerial assault on a nuclear base. There was little chance of a nuclear detonation, even from a direct hit on the heavily fortified bunkers. Nevertheless, the presence of nuclear warheads at a base routinely used by Russian bombers for attacks on Ukraine is a reminder of how dangerous this war remains. On December 26, Engels was struck by another Ukrainian drone, which killed three servicemen.
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