Details of Dmitry Medvedev’s secret meeting in Karelia revealed
Expert: in case of NATO expansion, Russia will rely on nuclear weapons
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said that if Finland and Sweden join the Alliance and deploy strike weapons on their territory, Russia's reaction “will be symmetrical.” MK expert, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told how this symmetrical response might look like. The expert did not rule out the future equipping of the Iskander complexes with tactical nuclear strikes, and also spoke about the advantage “which the Alliance does not have.”
Photo: Natalia Gubernatorova
Let us recall that on Thursday, July 28, Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting in Karelia to ensure Russia's security in the northwest direction in the context of Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO. After a closed meeting, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia talked to journalists:
– That is, they can choose a different path of movement within the North Atlantic Alliance: either moderate, or, as they say, completely open the gate and decide on the creation of bases on their territory , deployment of strike weapons. It depends on the countries themselves. And our response steps will be taken symmetrically to this, he said.
Medvedev added that the decision to join Stockholm and Helsinki in the Alliance complicates the situation with ensuring security in the Baltic for everyone.
According to MK expert, editor of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko, answer NATO Russia can nuclear weapons:
– In the event that Finland and Sweden become members of the Alliance, our border with NATO will almost double in length. Of course, this will require a lot of effort from us. In order to minimize financial costs, I believe it is necessary, first of all, to transfer tactical nuclear weapons to the Baltic Fleet and to the troops of the Western Military District to deter the Alliance. We do not have financial resources to create groupings equal in number. This will be overkill for our budget, since NATO is almost four times ahead of us in terms of the number of armed forces and military equipment. Therefore, this disparity must be eliminated based on tactical nuclear weapons.
According to the expert, nuclear charges can be installed on the Iskander complexes:
– On Iskanders in the missile brigades of the Western Military District, along with conventional warheads, tactical nuclear charges should also be installed. The same applies to Caliber cruise missiles on ships of the Baltic Fleet: some of them must be nuclear-armed. Changes to the Russian military doctrine should also be clearly spelled out – how and under what conditions we will be ready to use tactical nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Russia or preparations for such a full-scale aggression. So that no one has any doubts that in order to ensure the security of Russia, we will destroy, if necessary, those groups of NATO armed forces that are aimed at invading our country.
According to the expert, Russia should also strengthen the air defense systems – some of them are the latest achievement of the military-industrial complex:
– air defense also needs to be strengthened by deploying S-400 systems, and as well as complexes of the last frontier – these are Tor-M2 complexes. They should cover more important objects, including the bases of the Baltic Fleet, the grouping of Russian troops in the northwest. Tor-M2 complexes on a tracked chassis are today the latest achievement of the Russian military-industrial complex in the field of short-range air defense with a 100% probability of hitting any attacking targets in its area of responsibility. There are no analogues of this kind in NATO. We have advantages here and we need to actively implement them.