Russia says U.S. lowers ‘nuclear threshold’ by deploying new nuclear bombs in Europe By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – Russia stated on Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised U.S. B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would decrease the “nuclear threshold” and that Russia would take the transfer into consideration in its army planning.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered the gravest confrontation between Moscow and the West because the 1962 Cuban Missile Disaster when the 2 Chilly Struggle superpowers got here closest to nuclear battle.

Russia has round 2,000 working tactical nuclear weapons whereas america has round 200 such weapons, half of that are at bases in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Politico reported that america advised a closed NATO assembly that it could speed up the deployment of a modernised model of the B61, the B61-12, with the brand new weapons arriving at European bases in December, a number of months sooner than deliberate.

“We can’t ignore the plans to modernize nuclear weapons, these free-fall bombs which can be in Europe,” Russian Deputy International Minister Alexander Grushko advised state RIA information company.

The 12-ft B61-12 gravity bomb carries a decrease yield nuclear warhead than many earlier variations however is extra correct and may penetrate under floor, in accordance with analysis by the Federation of American Scientists.

“America is modernizing them, growing their accuracy and decreasing the ability of the nuclear cost, that’s, they flip these weapons into ‘battlefield weapons’, thereby decreasing the nuclear threshold,” Grushko stated.