Russia Was Preparing Fleet for Nuclear Strikes on Europe

Russia, before its major invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was preparing its navy to strike targets in deep Europe with missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the event of a potential conflict with NATO.

This was reported by the Financial Times, citing classified documents passed to the newspaper by Western sources.

The maps of long-range targets, such as the west coast of France and Barrow-in-Furness in the UK, are described in detail in a presentation to officers that preceded Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, the FT reported that the same cache of 29 secret Russian military files revealed that Moscow had been practising the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the early stages of a conflict with a major world power. The latest revelations show how Russia envisioned a conflict with the West far beyond its immediate border with NATO, planning a series of devastating strikes across Western Europe.

The files, compiled between 2008 and 2014, include a list of targets for missiles that could carry both conventional warheads and tactical nuclear weapons. Russian officers emphasise the advantages of early nuclear strikes.

Analysts who have seen the documents say they are consistent with how NATO assesses the threat of long-range missile strikes from the Russian navy and the speed with which Russia is likely to use nuclear weapons. The maps, which were produced for presentation purposes and not for operational use, illustrate a sample of 32 NATO targets in Europe for the Russian navy.

The Russian Baltic Fleet targets are located mainly in Norway and Germany, including the naval base in Bergen, as well as radar sites and special purpose facilities.

The leaked documents also indicate that Russia has retained the ability to carry tactical nuclear weapons on surface ships despite the 1991 agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States to eliminate them. Russian tactical nuclear weapons include "anti-submarine missiles with nuclear warheads deployed on surface ships and submarines" and "ship- and shore-based anti-aircraft guided missiles with nuclear warheads to defeat enemy air defence groups".

According to the newspaper, recent exercises ordered by Putin to practice the use of tactical nuclear weapons indicate that the secret documents leaked to the FT are still in line with current Russian military doctrine. In June, the Russian armed forces practiced loading Soviet-era P-270 anti-ship cruise missiles onto a Tarantula-class corvette in Kaliningrad, where NATO officials say an undeclared stockpile of tactical nuclear warheads is stored. 

In July, the US State Department promised to monitor Russia's actions amid new threats from the Kremlin to deploy nuclear missiles.

During the NATO summit in Washington, it was reported that the United States and Germany had agreed to deploy, among other things, Tomahawk missiles in Germany to strengthen deterrence and protect their NATO partners.

On 13 July, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that European capitals would be a "potential" victim if European countries agreed to deploy US long-range missiles.