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Media reports about Russian “nuclear ships” cause a stir. But their content does not live up to what the headline promises.
It sounds like a message at the start of the Third World War: “Putin is positioning nuclear ships”. Anyone who reads this would like to run straight down to the basement – after all, where weapons are positioned, their use is also being considered. Especially if the commander Russian President Vladimir Putin is.
The sensational message about “nuclear ships” ran this week in various media, background was the annual report of the Norwegian secret service “Focus 2023”. Alone: The headlines are proving to be just air numbers.
Russian “nuclear ships”: Norwegians report on routine exercises
The Norwegian report makes reference to Russia’s nuclear forces. Conventional troops suffered badly from the war effort in Ukraine, but: “Russia’s nuclear capabilities, on the other hand, are the same as before the war, and its air and naval forces are essentially intact.”
The Russian northern fleet would “continue to conduct routine fleet exercises, prolonged anti-submarine patrols in the Barents Sea and anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic”. And further: a central part “of the nuclear capacities is on the submarines of the Northern Fleet and surface ships”.
Especially tactical nuclear weapons posed a “serious threat” to Norway and NATO countries, the report warns.
Nuclear Armed Ships: Part of the nuclear triad
This information is not new. In April 2022, for example, it was already said in a report by the US Congressional Research Service (the scientific service of the Congress), Russia provide new military capabilities in the field of tactical nuclear weapons, “including those from ships […] can be deployed”. They served to deter NATO and China in the event of a conflict.
Nuclear-armed submarines, on the other hand, belong to the so-called nuclear triad, a deterrent strategy designed to ensure the ability to carry out a second strike – i.e. retaliation – in the event of a nuclear war. NATO also relies on the triad to prevent a nuclear attack.
In theory, submarines should sail out before a nuclear war and, if the worst comes to the worst, deploy nuclear missiles from their positions in the Atlantic and Pacific once the conflict has already broken out. Because they’re hard to detect, they’re also hard to fight – which in turn should discourage military planners from ordering a first strike. After all, they must reckon with being the target of (submarine-launched) nuclear weapons to become.
In this respect, it is not surprising that the Norwegian secret service expected “routine” U-boat maneuvers reported. They are part of Russia’s normal deterrence strategy, if you will.
Ukraine Crisis – The most important news about the war
Nuclear ships in position: US magazine reported misleadingly
So where does the media excitement about the supposed departure of Russian “nuclear ships” come from? As the ZDF analyzed in a reporta false report by the US magazine “Politico” triggered the excited reporting.
In a version of a Text of January 14th, which has since been changed there was talk of Russia deploying nuclear-armed ships in the Baltic Sea for the first time in 30 years. The source of the allegation was the report of Norwegian. The article left it open how the magazine arrived at its interpretation – it is not clear from the secret service report.
In the current version of the article there is no longer any mention of it. Instead of this quotes “Politico” a UN researcherwho thinks it highly unlikely that the report suggests that Russia has phased out ships carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
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