KYIV, Ukraine—As NATO and Russia simultaneously launch military exercises stretching from Eastern Europe into the Arctic, Russian defense officials said this week that supersonic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be deployed to Crimea.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, Tupolev TU-22M3 strategic bombers will be positioned in the former Ukrainian territory as part of a snap military exercise involving Russia’s Navy’s Northern Fleet, which has been put on full alert, and other ground and air units across Russia. The Russian military drills comprise 40,000 troops, more than 41 warships, 15 submarines and 110 aircraft and helicopters, according to RIA news agency.
The TU-22M3 is capable of carrying the Kh-22 anti-ship missile, which was designed by the Soviet Union to target U.S. warships and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Russia’s military exercises began Monday and are scheduled to last until Saturday. The stated intent of the mobilization, according to Russian defense officials, is to evaluate Russia’s northern defenses and the capabilities of its Northern Fleet.
“New challenges and threats of military security demand the further heightening of military capabilities of the armed forces and special attention will be paid to the state of the newly formed strategic merging (of forces) in the North,” said Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergey Shoigu, according to Russian news outlet Sputnik.
Russia also announced this week the deployment of Iskander tactical ballistic missile systems to the Kaliningrad region, according to TASS. The Iskander missile system has a range up to about 300 miles and is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
The deployment of nuclear platforms within striking distance of NATO forces during this week’s drills highlights the role of nuclear weapons in Russia’s national security strategy, said Michaela Dodge, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation.
“Russia does think about NATO as one of its primary adversaries, threatens NATO allies with a nuclear attack, and states that nuclear weapons use can be de-escalatory under some circumstances,” Dodge said.
“Provided that we have a good insight into what the Russian troops are doing in the field,” Dodge added, “opportunities for miscalculations should be low.”
In an interview aired on Russian television Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had considered putting his nuclear arsenal on alert if U.S. or NATO had intervened in Russia’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“We were ready to do that,” Putin replied when asked if he was willing to put his nuclear arsenal on alert. “That’s why I think no one wanted to start a world conflict.”
Russia’s exercises this week parallel several high-profile NATO operations, underscoring the escalation of tensions to levels not seen since the Cold War.
On March 9, Norway, a NATO member country, launched a military exercise in the northern region of Finnmark, which borders Russia’s Murmansk Oblast.
The exercise, called “Joint Viking,” comprises 5,000 Norwegian military personnel.
In another NATO operation, a convoy of U.S. Army Stryker armored fighting vehicles is set to depart Saturday for a 1,100-mile journey across Eastern Europe.
The operation, named Dragoon Ride, is part of a ratcheted-up U.S. military presence across Eastern Europe in response to Russia’s involvement in the ongoing Ukraine conflict as well as other recent provocations such as repeated flybys of NATO countries by Russian warplanes and the infiltration of Russian submarines into Swedish territorial waters.
As part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the U.S. Air Force recently deployed 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany and forward deployed F-16 fighters to Amari Air Base, Estonia and Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania.
Despite the tit-for-tat military exercises with NATO and the deployment of nuclear weapons platforms, Russia’s actions this week are probably not a serious threat to the alliance, said Luke Coffey, Margaret Thatcher fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
I do not think that these exercises and troop movements are anything more than posturing,” says @LukeDCoffey
“At this point I do not think that these exercises and troop movements are anything more than posturing,” said Coffey, a U.S. Army veteran. “Nevertheless, it is important that NATO keeps an eye on Russia’s actions in the region. After the invasion of Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea nothing can be completely ruled out.”