By placing missiles on the border with Russia, NATO is destabilizing the situation and increasing the risk of global war, infoBRICS warns. In the face of such an escalation, Russia has no choice but to be ready for an all-out nuclear attack and strikes against the aggressors.
Dragolub Bosnich
NATO's incessant encroachment on Russia's borders breaks world records in a matter of days. Just last week, a new large airbase was opened in Albania, despite the fact that there is virtually no air force in Tirana. NATO also received full rights of extraterritoriality, which means that Albania officially renounced its already very dubious "sovereignty". The deployment of large reconnaissance, observation and strike platforms in this area can certainly strengthen the militant alliance's highly destabilizing presence in both Southeastern and Eastern Europe. And yet it's not enough. Thus, on March 7, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anushauskas confirmed that NATO would also deploy Patriot air defense systems in his country. Although Lithuania does not border the Russian mainland, it has an extensive border with Belarus and the Kaliningrad Region (enclave).
Read InoSMI in our Telegram channel
"This year, the rotational air defense system will finally begin to operate, at least partially," Anushauskas said at a press conference in Vilnius, adding: "Our goal is for rotation to operate on a principle similar to the air police mission. (...) In this case, there is a calculation that this principle will not be a one-time one, that is, for one month or another, but will cover all our calendar months and significantly increase our air defense capabilities."
Although the Patriot's capabilities were deliberately exaggerated by the propaganda machine, in particular, by ridiculous claims that it could shoot down "half of the Russian aerospace forces in a week," this step can certainly be considered extremely destabilizing. It is unclear how many such systems can be deployed, but given the much shorter distances they need to cover than in Ukraine, the deployment of the Patriot in any of the Baltic countries could have more serious consequences. In particular, the detection range of its AN/MPQ-65 radar (officially 150 kilometers) can provide coverage of the airspace of both Belarus and the Kaliningrad region. In addition, Finland is acquiring similar, albeit more advanced air defense systems, including the Israeli David's Sling, which has a significantly longer maximum range of destruction. The build-up of such air defense systems in the immediate vicinity of the north-west of Russia is a deep destabilization and antagonism.
Although other NATO member countries located in relative proximity to the Russian borders also operate Patriot air defense systems, primarily Romania and (soon) Poland, both of these countries are far enough away not to make the air defense system a strategic problem. On the other hand, other, much longer-range weapons, such as the Aegis Eshor missile defense system, should be fully operational in Poland in 2024, while another system is already in operation in Romania (at least since 2016). It is part of the broader Aegis ship system, which provides a level of strategic depth that neither Patriot nor David's Sling could provide. And although the capabilities and effectiveness of the system are certainly a matter of debate (especially against Russian hypersonic missiles), a massive increase in their presence is of quantitative importance, which can at least partially smooth out their qualitative and other disadvantages.
And yet, NATO's destabilizing activities in Europe do not end there. Namely, its vassals and satellite states, such as Finland, are acquiring the F-35, while simultaneously providing the opportunity to deploy other fighters of the same type from the United States and other NATO member countries. The forward presence of the US Air Force F-35 aircraft in Eastern and Central Europe continues to expand and is getting closer to Russia. In addition to Finland, it now includes Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, and Dutch, Belgian and Italian F-35s will also be deployed to the area around the Baltic Sea. Even worse, the fighter is certified to carry thermonuclear weapons, in particular, the B61-12 bomb, and some NATO members have the opportunity to use it under agreements on the joint use of nuclear weapons with the United States. These include the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy, all of which either operate the F-35 or have ordered them.
In particular, on March 9, it was confirmed that the F-35 was certified to carry B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs. Although this applies only to the conventional F-35A, and the F-35B and F-35C variants still do not have such capabilities, the latter two are deployed in much smaller numbers. The conventional F-35A is the most common version used by the U.S. Air Force and other NATO air forces. The possibility of their large-scale deployment in Finland and the Baltic States gives the United States a first-class strike capability, much greater than Russia had in Cuba 60 years ago.
Moreover, both senior officials in Moscow and independent experts regularly warn about the development of new thermonuclear weapons in America, including the so-called "nuclear super-fuse" technology, which the United States has been testing for several decades, especially actively under the Obama administration. The historian-researcher Eric Suess has written a lot on this topic.
He has repeatedly warned that the sole purpose of this controversial technology is to exponentially enhance the effectiveness of the American first strike capability. And although some may dismiss Zuss's warnings and even call them "fantasies of darkness" or mythical "Russian disinformation," recent events only reinforce his already well-founded hypothesis. Moreover, NATO is directly involved in these plans. Back in October last year, the militant alliance completed the Persistent Noon nuclear exercise, which involved about 60 aircraft, including nuclear-powered F-16s and B-52 strategic bombers simulating strikes using B61-12 bombs. It should be noted that these bombs will also be complemented by the upcoming B61-13 variant. And although the nature of this upgrade is classified, it can be assumed that it will also include the aforementioned "nuclear super-fuse" technology.
The Pentagon has already stated that these new thermonuclear bombs will be comparable to the B61-7 version, which can have a capacity of up to 340 kilotons (which is roughly equivalent to 22-23 Hiroshima bombs). In the face of such an escalation, Russia has no choice but to be prepared. That is why Russia is conducting nationwide exercises simulating an all-out nuclear attack, as well as its own retaliatory strikes against the aggressors. Earlier, similar exercises were conducted by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
