Russia says U.S. lowering 'nuclear threshold' with newer bombs in Europe - Reuters.com

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia said connected Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised U.S. B61 tactical atomic weapons astatine NATO bases successful Europe would little the "nuclear threshold" and that Russia would instrumentality the determination into relationship successful its subject planning.

Russia has astir 2,000 moving tactical atomic weapons portion the United States has astir 200 specified weapons, fractional of which are astatine bases successful Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Amid the Ukraine crisis, Politico reported connected Oct. 26 that the United States told a closed NATO gathering this period that it would accelerate the deployment of a modernised mentation of the B61, the B61-12, with the caller weapons arriving astatine European bases successful December, respective months earlier than planned.

"We cannot disregard the plans to modernize atomic weapons, those free-fall bombs that are successful Europe," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told authorities RIA quality agency.

The 12-ft B61-12 gravity weaponry carries a little output atomic warhead than galore earlier versions but is much close and tin penetrate beneath ground, according to research by the Federation of American Scientists published successful 2014.

"The United States is modernizing them, expanding their accuracy and reducing the powerfulness of the atomic charge, that is, they crook these weapons into 'battlefield weapons', thereby reducing the atomic threshold," Grushko said.

The Pentagon said it was not going to sermon the details of the U.S. atomic arsenal and that the premise of the Politico nonfiction was incorrect arsenic the United States had agelong planned the modernisation of its B61 atomic weapons.

"Modernization of U.S. B61 atomic weapons has been underway for years, and plans to safely and responsibly swap retired older weapons for the upgraded B61-12 versions are portion of a long-planned and scheduled modernization effort," Pentagon spokesperson Oscar Seara said.

"It is successful nary mode linked to existent events successful Ukraine and was not sped up successful immoderate way," Seara said successful an emailed statement.

Russia's penetration of Ukraine has triggered the gravest confrontation betwixt Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis erstwhile the 2 Cold War superpowers came closest to atomic war.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia volition support its territory with each disposable means, including atomic weapons, if attacked.

The comments raised peculiar interest successful the West aft Moscow declared past period it had annexed 4 Ukrainian regions that its forces power parts of. Putin says the West has engaged successful atomic blackmail against Russia.

'STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE'

U.S. President Joe Biden said connected Oct. 6 that Putin had brought the satellite person to "Armageddon" than astatine immoderate clip since the Cuban Missile Crisis, though Biden aboriginal said helium did not deliberation that Putin would usage a tactical atomic weapon.

Putin has not mentioned utilizing a tactical atomic limb but has said helium suspects Ukraine could detonate a "dirty bomb", a assertion Ukraine and the West accidental is false.

The U.S. B61 atomic weaponry was archetypal tested successful Nevada soon aft the Cuban Missile Crisis. Under Barack Obama, U.S. president from 2009 to 2017, the improvement of a caller mentation of the bomb, the B61-12, was approved.

Russia's Grushko said that Moscow would besides person to instrumentality relationship of the Lockheed Martin F-35 which would driblet specified a bomb. NATO, helium said, had already strengthened the atomic parts of its subject planning.

NATO "has already made decisions to fortify the atomic constituent successful the alliance's subject plans," Grushko said.

Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said connected Saturday connected Telegram that the caller B61 bombs had a "strategic significance" arsenic Russia's tactical atomic weapons were successful storage, yet these U.S. bombs would beryllium conscionable a abbreviated formation from Russia's borders.

The United States, according to the U.S. 2022 Nuclear Posture Review published connected Thursday, volition bolster atomic deterrence with the F-35, the B61-12 bombs and a nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile.

Editing by Frances Kerry and Helen Popper

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