Colonel Khodarenok: Russia can respond to NATO exercises with nuclear tests
The North Atlantic Alliance will soon begin the largest exercise in recent decades, Steadfast Defender 2024 ("Steadfast Defender - 2024"). The maneuvers, which will last four months, involve 90 thousand fighters and commanders from 31 NATO countries, as well as from Sweden. What goals is NATO pursuing by conducting exercises, and how can Russia respond - in the material of the military observer of the Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
The objectives of the exercises
Steadfast Defender 2024, in terms of the number of personnel, weapons and military equipment involved, can be attributed to troop maneuvers - the highest form of operational and combat training of the armed forces.
There is every reason to believe that the leadership of the alliance considers the main goals of Steadfast Defender 2024 to be the improvement of the practical skills of generals and officers in planning and preparing military operations, managing troops during the war and organizing all types of support, coordinating the work of government bodies in difficult conditions, exploring new issues of tactics (mainly based on the experience of conducting ITS own).
The idea of holding Steadfast Defender 2024, of course, did not enter the public field. But with a high degree of probability, we can say that
Most likely, the maneuvers will be a strategic defensive operation, during which it is supposed to repel the invasion of the aggressor (that is, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and their possible allies), defeat the advancing groups of enemy troops, hold the most important areas of their territory, in the future, during the armed struggle, create conditions for seizing the initiative and launching a counteroffensive.
In addition, the alliance probably plans to work out the defeat of Russian Navy groups in the Baltic and Black Seas, as well as disrupt possible sea transportation.
Finally, there is no doubt that during Steadfast Defender 2024 it is planned to defeat the strategic reserves of the Russian Armed Forces and disrupt their regrouping. It will not do without considering during the NATO events the issues of hitting important objects of the Russian economy, communications, the system of state and military administration. We can also say that if these issues are not being worked out, then these are not quite exercises of the North Atlantic Alliance. That's most likely what the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises will be like.
What will be the answer
The question arises: how can Russia respond to such openly hostile activities on the part of the North Atlantic Alliance? After all, it will be very, very difficult for Moscow to fight with NATO in a large-scale conflict using only conventional means of destruction. So far, no one has abolished the basic law of war, which consists in depending on the course and outcome of the war on the ratio of the combined military power of the warring parties. And NATO has an overwhelming superiority over the Russian Federation in almost all indicators, with the exception, perhaps, of one thing - nuclear weapons.
In this regard (I emphasize, this is a purely personal opinion of the author)
And this will solve several problems at once. For example, rumors are constantly spreading by our detractors that Russian nuclear munitions in long-term storage have long since lost their operability. In other words, bombs and missiles were overgrown with moss and lichens, and shrubby thickets appeared on the roofs of special storages of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. We must somehow dissuade our opponents from having erroneous opinions on this issue. And this can be done only by actions, not by words.
They may object to me: what are you saying? What about the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty? Russia signed this document on September 24, 1996, and ratified it on June 30, 2000. But in November 2022, Moscow withdrew the ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty. That is, there are no obstacles in this regard.
One can also ask the following question: what will our participation in the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water look like in the case of conducting tactical flight exercises using nuclear weapons? For the duration of the maneuvers, it is possible to withdraw from this agreement. In terms of withdrawing from various kinds of treaties, the first example is given by the United States: when Washington deems it necessary, it breaks off any previously reached agreements.
They can also say this: you cannot even imagine all the negative consequences for our country in the event of such exercises. The answer is quite simple: yes, it is much worse in our modern relations with the West. It definitely won't get any worse. And our willingness to take drastic action in extreme cases will be more than clearly demonstrated.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok