Arms control expert on Russia's nuclear saber rattling: 'They do it to irritate us'
Thomson Reuters
On the defensive side, Russian media recently reported that 40 million defense officials and civilians recently took part in drills to help them survive a possible nuclear or chemical attack.
One official told The Wall Street Journal that they were taking steps to ensure that 100% of Moscow's population would be sheltered in the event of a nuclear blast.
But Lewis, in an interview with Business Insider, said that's almost certainly false.
"There's always been this talk about how they can use the subways for shelters," said Lewis. "But you still have to feed and clothe them, give them clean water."
Additionally, building collapse and lingering radiation after nuclear strikes can cause enormous risk to life, and it's simply hard to imagine that an entire city could reach subterranean hideouts in the 30 or so minutes it takes an intercontinental ballistic missile to cross the globe.
"I'd be interested to see if that exercise was real or not," said Lewis, who was dubious of the reporting of Russia's state-run media.
However, Lewis did stress that the Russians do take steps to try and protect the lives of 100% of the leadership.
"The Russians are investing heavily in leadership bunkers and modernizing them," said Lewis, who spoke of a general paranoia in Russia's leadership, where they think that they could be toppled at any moment from internal or external forces.
"Russians are very frightened by" possible attempts to overthrow the government, as Moscow has neither the democratic will of the people nor strong international alliances to support itself, said Lewis.
As for Russia's deployment of nuclear-capable missiles to the European exclave of Kaliningrad, Lewis said there are two options: One is Moscow they did it temporarily to bother the US and NATO, and the other is that it did it permanently to destabilize the region.
"The Russians have turned Kaliningrad into a giant military garrison chalk full of airfields, naval bases, and missiles units," said Lewis. But far from being the type of covert move a government would undertake if it wanted to actually use the missiles, the Russians do it in a very visible way because "putting military equipment in Kaliningrad has no purpose but irritating NATO," said Lewis.
RFEL/Amanda Macias/Business Insider
But a full time deployment of Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad could trouble the region. Furthermore, experts like Lewis believe that Russia is working on an intermediate-range cruise missile that would violate an international treaty.
But still, even if the Kremlin has violated the treaty, or plans to keep nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad full time, the move is "irritating, but not a direct threat to our security," said Lewis, who added that "Russians just don't want to cooperate on nuclear security" anymore.
"If the Russians decide they want to return to the arms race, there isn't a lot we can do. We can take steps to defend our allies, we can make sure we have capabilities to deter them, but there's not a lot we can do," said Lewis, as Russia has full sovereign rights within Kaliningrad.
So while Russian nuclear posturing may be deeply irresponsible, frightening, and counter productive to promoting peace and international cooperation, the US must simply watch, be prepared, and consider that it's "entirely possible that they're just jerking our chain," said Lewis.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market