Hiding in the shadows: How Russia's reviving Cold War tricks to keep its nuclear threat moving

Time of India

5 days ago

Russia's nuclear infrastructure is growing in the shadows. Satellite images reveal extensive construction at five sites, from Belarus to Kamchatka, as Moscow reinforces old Cold War-era bases with new bunkers, railheads and tunnels. Analysts say this modernisation is about more than just maintenance — it signals a sharpening edge to Russia's nuclear threat in a Europe unsettled by the Ukraine war. At each site, fresh security, hidden guardposts and new facilities hint at plans yet to be declared.
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Belarus: The railhead returns
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Gadzhiyevo: Submarines in the North
Kaliningrad: A Baltic mystery
Kamchatka: Torpedoes and tunnels
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Novaya Zemlya: Where the Tsar bomb echoes
Recent satellite images, reviewed by Business Insider and captured by Planet Labs this May and June, show Russia quietly hardening its nuclear infrastructure. Sites once sleepy or left over from Soviet days now bristle with fences, hidden checkpoints and fresh concrete.Hans Kristensen, who leads the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, summed it up: 'One thing they've done is put a perimeter up that consists of three layers of fencing, and the middle layer is more enhanced.'He's talking about Asipovichy, a Belarusian site that's become the Kremlin's forward operating point for tactical warheads.Five miles east of Asipovichy sits the 1,405th Ammunition Base. A glance at old photos shows a bare patch of land. Now, there's a fenced compound, covered guard posts, a hidden unloading ramp and a massive orange command antenna. Kristensen spotted signs that the Russians are linking it to the Belarusian rail network: 'That's an absolute must for the Russian nuclear infrastructure. If they need to transport nuclear warheads in here, they would most likely not be flown in, but put in by rail.'Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin have both said Belarus could host Russian warheads. Yet Pavel Podvig of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research thinks the nukes aren't there yet: 'It's more likely the weapons assigned to the site are stored in a national-level site. They would be moved to Asipovichy when necessary.'Across town sits another clue — an Iskander missile base with new garages. These mobile launchers can carry tactical nuclear payloads, and fresh tyre tracks suggest they're not just for show.Head north to Gadzhiyevo, Murmansk. This naval depot services Russia's nuclear-armed submarines. Look closely at the satellite snaps: you'll spot cranes hoisting intercontinental ballistic missiles into the subs, and carved-out mountain bunkers shielding the warheads from prying eyes.Between September 2022 and May 2025, six new buildings popped up near the missile handling area. Kristensen thinks they're storage or maintenance sheds for the arsenal. Podvig agrees: 'The missile storage is clearly undergoing a major expansion.'Kaliningrad is wedged between Lithuania and Poland. Its military base has long been suspected of storing tactical nukes. Old Google Street View images even show posters bragging about the unit's Cold War history.Between 2020 and June this year, new fencing went up and bunkers were dug up, rebuilt and buried again. A small grey guard shack appeared near a covered checkpoint. Michael Duitsman from the Middlebury Institute notes: 'We don't yet know what it is, but it's a new feature of these sites.'Whatever it is, it matches the same structure found at Asipovichy — not a detail analysts are likely to overlook.Across the Bering Sea from Alaska, Kamchatka hosts one of Russia's Pacific nuclear hubs. This base is lined with bunkers and heavy security fencing. It's also where Russia plans to station its Poseidon nuclear torpedoes — long-range, self-propelled and designed to cross oceans on their own.Satellite photos show two new buildings near an old mountain storage site. Kristensen believes these could be fresh warhead bays. 'That's where they roll in the warheads individually in a trolley, and sort of line them up against the wall.'By June 2025, a new T-shaped building and extra perimeter fences had appeared too. Duitsman sees classic signs of nuclear upkeep: triple fencing and tight guard zones.Out on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, north of the Arctic Circle, lies a frozen relic of Soviet power. In 1961, the USSR detonated the Tsar Bomba here — the largest nuclear blast ever. Today, this island is back in the spotlight.Kristensen explains why: 'It's where they certify the warhead nuclear designs, but they don't need to conduct a live nuclear test that produces a yield.' Instead, they run subcritical experiments — nuclear tinkering that stops short of an actual explosion.Between 2021 and this summer, a large new building rose near the old test tunnels. By June, the compound's expansion looked complete. New tunnel entrances appeared too. 'A whole new tunnel in the mountain next to the other one, and personnel buildings, this is a big activity beef-up,' Kristensen said.Podvig, though, urges caution: 'Russia has a policy of keeping the site prepared for the resumption of tests, if necessary. The US has a similar policy.'None of this happens in a vacuum. While Russia revamps its stockpiles, the US is upgrading its own. The Cold War-era Minuteman III missiles are being replaced by the Sentinel. China, too, is busy adding warheads.According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Russia still holds the biggest arsenal in the world, with about 4,300 active warheads. The US isn't far behind at 3,700.These satellite images are just pixels — but they point to something more concrete. Nuclear weapons, once the ultimate relic of another era, are very much back at the heart of Russian strategy. Hidden fences. Guardhouses no one can explain. Bunkers that vanish and reappear.It's not just maintenance. It's a signal. And the world is watching.