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Bellona nuclear digest. May 2024
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
News
Publish date: August 22, 2007
News
Western governments, though largely unfazed by President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Moscow was reviving Cold War era nuclear bomber patrols, have nonetheless viewed the move as a new chill in East-West relations.
But the commander of the bomber group, Major General Anatoly Zhikharev – in an apparent effort to deescalate tensions – told ITAR-TASS Russian news agency that the bombers were only flying with training missiles aboard.
Zhikharev’s comments contradict the announcement made by his superior, Major General Pavel Androsov – who said last week, in the wake of a presidential announcement that the patrols would resume after a 15-year hiatus – that the flights were carrying nuclear weapons.
"Continuous alert missions were resumed on August 17th, on the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin) after an interval, which had lasted since 1992," Zhikharev said.
"They are being flown in difficult conditions, including pre-reconnaissance, refuelling in the air, and in opposition to fighters of Nato and other countries," he added.
Putin has said that he resumed the flghts in answer to continued nuclear patrols of Russian interests by countries he would not specify, though military analysts suggest Putin’s comments were a barb aimed at the United States.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
But it’s unlikely to impact emissions from shipping along the Northern Sea Route.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
The following op-ed, written by Bellona’s Charles Digges, originally appeared in The Moscow Times. In recent months, the Russian nuclear in...