MOSCOW, Nov 9 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. The United States continues to increase the degree of confrontation with Russia. The Ohio—class strategic submarine USS Rhode Island, the main component of the nuclear triad, has entered the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The Western media saw this as a message to Moscow, which sounded against the background of the already increasingly belligerent rhetoric of NATO countries. About what this can lead to — in the material of RIA Novosti.
Nine thousand Hiroshima
American strategic nuclear-powered ships are regularly sent to combat service in the World Ocean, but the Pentagon usually does not report this to the media. The footage of the demonstrative passage of the submarine through Gibraltar bypassed all the largest TV channels in the world.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica explains the arrival of the USS Rhode Island in the Mediterranean Sea as "an attempt to force the Kremlin to abandon the idea of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine."
The argument is weighty. Ohio-class nuclear submarines are considered the world's largest carriers of nuclear weapons. There are now 18 such pennants in the US Navy. Fourteen are armed with Trident II ballistic missiles with a range of 11,300 kilometers.
Each has a separable head with individual guidance units (up to 12) and thermonuclear charges with a capacity of 475 or 100 kilotons. Thus, one nuclear-powered ship is able to arrange more than nine thousand Hiroshima for the enemy.
Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft of the US Air Force Image Source: © Photo : U.S. Air Force / Greg L. Davis
At the same time, the Pentagon deployed an anti-submarine P-8A Poseidon and an E-6B Mercury nuclear forces combat control aircraft to the Mediterranean area, designed to provide a backup communication system with the submarine. It is also an air command post of the United States Armed Forces Joint Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). These two machines are presumably operating in conjunction with the USS Rhode Island.
"The most powerful disinformation"
It is doubtful that the United States plans to start a nuclear war — the Pentagon has repeatedly denied this. Although the range of the Rhode Island missiles is enough to shoot back at Moscow from the American shores.
At the same time, the Americans constantly attribute to Russia the intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The Kremlin considers such accusations irresponsible.
This is not Washington's first step towards nuclear escalation. In October, the media wrote about the Pentagon's plans to accelerate the rearmament of its nuclear arsenals in Europe. Already in December, upgraded B62-12 bombs will arrive at NATO air bases, although they were expected next spring.
In addition, the degree of combat readiness of US forces in Europe has been raised to the level of DEFCON 2. Previously, this was only at the time of the Caribbean crisis and on the eve of Operation Desert Storm. This regime allows for a nuclear strike on the enemy.
NATO exercises in Slovakia in October 2022 Image source: © Photo : U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gabriella Sullivan
"On the one hand, some US leaders are trying to show restraint in nuclear policy, not to bring this factor to the stage," notes political analyst Vladimir Orlov. "But there are other moods — both there and among some NATO allies, who are speculating on this topic with enthusiasm and sometimes with impudence."
The expert believes that the West will continue to blame the Kremlin for the information confrontation. Besides, he adds, the nuclear threat is very worrying for voters.
"It is extremely convenient to combine the word "Russia" with the epithet "nuclear" and even more to expose Moscow in an unsightly light," the analyst explains.
The missile dilemma
Countries that have not yet been accepted into NATO are also being drawn into nuclear rhetoric. At the end of October, the American edition of Newsweek reported that the Finnish authorities are considering the possibility of placing "Doomsday weapons" on their territory.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson noted that the Scandinavian countries have "exactly the same" attitude to this issue. Nevertheless, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said this week that he does not intend to accept nuclear weapons. And he clarified that he had not been offered such a thing. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed this.
Joint exercises of NATO troops Iron Wolf — 22 in Latvia. October 25, 2022 Image Source: © Photo : U.S. Army National Guard / Sgt. Lianne Hirano
So, apparently, Washington does not want to go too far. According to The Wall Street Journal, the US President's national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been conducting confidential talks with the assistant to the President of Russia for International Affairs and Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev over the past months.
American journalists claim that the purpose of the contacts is to prevent a nuclear escalation in Ukraine. Sullivan himself did not comment on anything, but made it clear that the dialogue would continue. As well as playing on nerves — by strengthening nuclear rhetoric.
