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 Força nuclear tática da Rússia infographic
A infografia mosta o número de armas nucleares não estratégicas da Rússia.
GN42396PT

UCRÂNIA

Força nuclear não estratégica da Rússia

By Duncan Mil

March 1, 2022 - O Presidente Vladimir Putine causou alarme no mundo ao colocar as forças nucleares da Rússia em alerta máximo no meio de uma invasão da Ucrânia que encontra feroz resistência.

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Russia has a total nuclear warhead inventory of 5,977 -- the largest atomic arsenal in the world. The U.S. has 5,428 warheads while France has 290 and Britain has 225.

Writing for the Bulletin, Hans M Kristensen and Matt Korda state: “Of these, about 1,588 strategic warheads are deployed on ballistic missiles and at heavy bomber bases, while an approximate additional 977 strategic warheads, along with 1,912 non-strategic warheads, are held in reserve.”

Putin’s order which applies to Russia’s strategic, non-strategic -- or smaller tactical weapons -- and new hypersonic nuclear missiles, does not mean Putin is ordering preparations for a nuclear strike.

Strategic nuclear weapons include intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which can hit targets globally, such as the U.S. and Europe. Tactical nuclear weapons is a term used for those deployed on a battlefield. Russia’s tactical weapons have yields ranging from 10 kilotons to 500 kilotons.

The Hiroshima bomb yielded 13 kilotons (13,000 tons of TNT). The blast and resultant firestorm killed between 70,000–80,000 people -- 30 per cent of Hiroshima’s population of the city at the time.

According to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, the Kremlin “reserves the right to use nuclear weapons,” including tactical weapons to be deployed in a conventional conflict to make an enemy back down.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 01/03/2022; STORY: Graphic News
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