FT: Russia was preparing its fleet for strikes in Western Europe

Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia was preparing its navy to strike targets deep in Europe with nuclear-tipped missiles in the event of a potential conflict with NATO.

According to Yevropeiska Pravda, this follows from secret documents reviewed by the Financial Times and passed on to the newspaper by Western sources.

Maps of long-range targets, such as the west coast of France and Barrow-in-Furness in the UK, are described in detail in a presentation to officers that preceded Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, the FT reported that the same cache of 29 secret Russian military files revealed that Moscow had been practicing the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the early stages of a conflict with a major world power. The latest revelations show how Russia envisioned a conflict with the West far beyond its immediate border with NATO, planning a series of devastating strikes across Western Europe.

The files, compiled between 2008 and 2014, include a list of targets for missiles that could carry both conventional warheads and tactical nuclear weapons. Russian officers emphasize the advantages of early nuclear strikes.

Analysts who have seen the documents say they are consistent with how NATO assesses the threat of long-range missile strikes from the Russian fleet and the speed with which Russia is likely to use nuclear weapons. The maps, which were produced for presentation purposes and not for operational use, illustrate a sample of 32 NATO targets in Europe for the Russian navy.

The Russian Baltic Fleet targets are located mostly in Norway and Germany, including the naval base in Bergen, as well as radar sites and special forces facilities.

The leaked documents also indicate that Russia has retained the ability to carry tactical nuclear weapons on surface ships, despite the 1991 agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States to eliminate them. Russian tactical nuclear weapons include "anti-submarine missiles with nuclear warheads deployed on surface ships and submarines" and "ship- and shore-based anti-aircraft guided missiles with nuclear warheads to defeat enemy air defense groups."

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 13/08/2024