NATO Has Begun Secret Exercises in Case of a Nuclear War

NATO has launched the “Steadfast Noon” exercise, during which a nuclear war scenario will be worked out. The details of the maneuvers are classified. The armed forces of Germany and 13 other NATO countries began on Monday, October 18, annual exercises to protect the territory of the alliance with the help of nuclear weapons. As indicated in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, dozens of aircraft are involved in the maneuvers called “Steadfast Noon”, including nuclear-armed fighters, conventional combat aircraft, as well as tankers and reconnaissance aircraft. According to official data, this year's exercise is taking place in the airspace over the southern territory of the alliance. This means that as part of the maneuvers, the use of American B61 type nuclear bombs, which, according to unconfirmed reports, are stored at the Ghedi military airbase in northern Italy, can be worked out. At the same time, the exact location and other details of the exercises in NATO are not disclosed. According to the flight data assessment conducted by Danish nuclear weapons expert Hans Christensen, a German Tornado combat aircraft landed at Ghedi airfield on Monday. According to military experts, during the “Steadfast Noon” maneuvers, among other things, the transportation of American nuclear weapons from underground storage facilities and their attachment to fighters will be worked out. However, training flights will be carried out without bombs. American nuclear warheads in Europe “Given the deteriorating security conditions in Europe, a reliable and unified nuclear alliance is crucial”, NATO said in an earlier press release. At the same time, the organization stressed that after the end of the cold war, the number of nuclear weapons on European territory was sharply reduced. NATO's nuclear policy stipulates that partner countries can use US warheads stationed in Europe in an emergency. According to officially unconfirmed reports, American nuclear weapons are deployed, among others, in Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands, as well as in the German Buchel in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Russia will suspend the work of its permanent mission to NATO On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the permanent mission of the Russian Federation to NATO will suspend work from the beginning of November. So Russia decided to respond to the decision of the North Atlantic Alliance to revoke the accreditation of eight employees of the permanent mission of Russia from November 1 of this year, motivated by the fact that they were undeclared employees of Russian intelligence. Withdrawal of Russia and the United States from the IRNFT Currently, experts assess the threat of nuclear war as significantly higher compared to the past three decades. The reason is the withdrawal of the United States and Russia from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (IRNFT). The reason for the termination of the agreement was the development by Russia of the 9M729 missile (SSC-8 according to the classification of the North Atlantic Alliance), capable of flying more than 500 kilometers. Washington and NATO believe that Moscow thereby violated the treaty. Russia recognizes the presence of the missile, but claims that it does not violate the IRNFT. Intermediate-range nuclear forces pose the greatest threat to the world, since they are able to reach the target within a few minutes and leave no chance for the enemy to prepare for a strike and repel it. DW