The risks of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons always exist, but the current state of Russia’s nuclear arsenal raises questions, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Thursday in an exclusive interview with the Interfax.Ukraine news agency, in which he avoided assessing how high Russia’s nuclear weapons. Moscow may resort to nuclear weapons.

• “There are always risks. When you have a nuclear-armed neighbor, there’s always the risk that he’ll go crazy.
• What is it in percentage? I wouldn’t dare say.
• What if they have nuclear delivery vectors left? Yes, they still are. They can be carried by Iskander, Kalibr missiles and strategic aviation.
• What quality they have and in what condition – this raises questions,” said Reznikov.

Recalling the discussion with ex-president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchyma, during which the transfer of nuclear weapons left over from the Soviet era by Kyiv to Russia (according to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994) was completed, the Ukrainian minister noted that even if Ukraine does not take into account these nuclear weapons of Moscow , it still expires in 1997:

• “They were supposed to be decommissioned and destroyed. We gave them all to Russia.
• Therefore, the question is: in what condition are these crowbars in Russia?”

“You could press a button, but the explosion could happen right there.”

According to Reznikov, the “Satan” missiles (produced at factories in Ukraine since the time of the USSR) are still in service with the Russian military.

• “We were still making them 40 years ago. And the question arises: who maintains them, according to what instructions and how old are the engineers who deal with them?
• Therefore, the button could be pressed, but the explosion could have happened right there, on the spot,” said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

In recent days, Western intelligence agencies have stepped up surveillance of Russia’s nuclear arsenal after the latest threats from Moscow.

At the same time, the US considers Russia’s use of tactical nuclear weapons unlikely. But the risk is definitely higher than last year or even in June, according to Russian military expert Pavlo Luzin.

Russian authorities have hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons since the start of a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and those threats have increased in recent weeks, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. and Voice of America.

Announcing a “partial” mobilization on September 21, Putin threatened to use “all available” means to Russia to protect its territorial integrity. “This is not a bluff!” he added.

Western politicians and intelligence agencies say that while there is no sign of nuclear weapons deployment, Putin’s threats should be taken seriously. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the statement of the Russian president should be taken into account.

“Do not ignore the siren in the event of a possible nuclear attack, urgently go to underground shelters. Only this will save you!” – echoes in Kyiv these days, reports the TV channel quoted on the website. According to him, the city center is one of the most dangerous places in case of a nuclear attack.

Underground storage facilities are located at the entrance to the quarters and are accessible only through the intercom code. Foreigners cannot get there. But some are open, so you can find basements full of cobwebs, but with traces of the recent presence of people (who were hiding from Russian rocket fire), in some places even drinking water remains.

A possible nuclear attack by Russia was first discussed in Kyiv a few months ago. It was then that potassium iodide pills, which are believed to help with radiation contamination, disappeared from pharmacies. But now there are a lot of such drugs, you can find them in any pharmacy.

In general, residents of the Ukrainian capital are calm about the threat of a nuclear attack, in most cases they believe that the West will not allow Putin to resort to such a crazy gesture, reports the same TV channel. (Source: Agerpres)