Putin watched a nuclear weapons simulation. “Is he comparing it with his own bunker?”
Vladimir Putin took part in a simulation of the use of nuclear weapons while visiting an exhibition of the most important achievements of Russian technology and science.
Reuters noted that on December 4, the Russian president participated in a simulation of the use of the “nuclear button” but refused to press it. The show was part of a tour of a huge exhibition of Russian achievements, which looked like a warm-up for the upcoming re-election campaign.
Simulation of the use of nuclear weapons. Putin kept his distance
The design of Soviet nuclear weapons was explained to Putin and a mock-up of the control panel for launching a nuclear test was shown. The Russian leader then observed images of the explosion and mushroom cloud through a viewing window.
“Putin was shown a model of the bunker that was used in the USSR to observe the tests of the first Soviet atomic bomb. The explosion was played on a screen, with Putin watching it through a crack in the wall. Did he compare it with his own bunker?” – said Anton Herashchenko, advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ironically.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Putin has frequently reminded the West of the size and capabilities of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, saying that anyone who tries to launch a nuclear attack against it will be wiped out.
Putin has deployed tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus and changed Russia’s position on two major arms treaties, while emphasizing that Moscow is not recklessly “waving” the option of using lethal weapons or changing its doctrine on their use.
According to two people close to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin was considering the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. However, he concluded that even a limited strike would not bring any benefits to Russia.
– He has no reason to press the button. What is the point of bombing Ukraine? If you detonate a nuclear bomb in Zaporizhia, everything will be irradiated and you won’t be able to go there, and this is supposedly Russia, said a former Russian official in an interview with the Financial Times.
