“We were inside with the nuclear weapons”
Within his unit, everything was kept very secret. And he didn’t really know what he should do. “We only had Russian state television. I didn’t really know what that meant. I was mechanically carrying out my duties. We were not participating in the war, we were just keeping the nuclear weapons. We were at the interior of the base.”
For a former Russian soldier to speak to journalists is extremely rare. Anton gave a little more guidance on how to get into military organizations. “The selection is very strict. All are professional soldiers, not conscripts. There are constant checks and lie detector tests for everyone. The pay is much higher and troops are not sent to war. They are there to repel or carry out a nuclear attack.”
According to him, the state of nuclear alert was lifted after two to three weeks. But he was extremely vigilant. “It was my responsibility to ensure that the soldiers under my command did not take any phones to the nuclear base. It’s a closed society, there are no outsiders. If you want your parents to visit you, you must submit a request to the FSB Security Service three months in advance.”
The reaction in the event of an attack also had to be maximum. “We had constant training exercises. Our reaction time was two minutes.”he explains with pride.
“The new Russian missile could hit Brussels in 15 minutes, but Vladimir Putin is not suicidal”
If he left the army, it was because, according to him, his superiors asked him to spread criminal messages. “They said that Ukrainian civilians were fighters and that they must be destroyed! This is a red line that should not be crossed. For me, this is a war crime. I said I would not spread this propaganda.”
Before being sent to the front, Anton signed a declaration of refusal to participate in the war and a criminal case was opened against him. He then decided to flee the country with the help of a volunteer organization for deserters.
What arsenal for Russia?
Since the start of the war, Russia has tested the nerves of the West, which has also responded. For some experts, the Russian army does indeed have nuclear weapons. But this arsenal is said to be aging and dates from the Soviet era. According to these Westerners, these weapons might not even work.
An opinion refuted by the former officer of the nuclear forces. “This is a very simplified view from so-called experts.”he cut in. “There may be old-style weapons in some areas, but the country has a huge nuclear arsenal, a considerable amount of nuclear warheads, as well as constant combat patrols on land, at sea and in the tunes.”
According to data from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia has more nuclear warheads than any other country, nearly 5,580 warheads. This figure represents 47% of global stocks. But according to estimates, only 1,710 of these weapons would be deployed, forty more than the 1,670 deployed by the United States.
