Latest news with #Kristensen
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Hiding in the shadows: How Russia's reviving Cold War tricks to keep its nuclear threat moving
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. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Belarus: The railhead returns Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Gadzhiyevo: Submarines in the North Kaliningrad: A Baltic mystery Kamchatka: Torpedoes and tunnels Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 not just maintenance. It's a signal. And the world is watching.
Business Insider
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Satellite photos show how Russia is building up 5 of its secret nuclear bases
A comparison between the satellite photos from April 2021 and May 2025 also shows the construction of a major roadway leading to a large platform. This is likely to introduce a railhead into the base from the main Belarusian train lines northwest of the base, with the platform built as a facility to offload nuclear warheads from the train. "That's an absolute must for the Russian nuclear infrastructure," Kristensen said. "If they need to transport nuclear warheads in here, they would most likely not be flown in, but put in by rail." The most likely type of warhead that Russia would store here is one that can be dropped via a gravity bomb from Belarus' warplanes, he said, and the Kremlin usually transports such nuclear weapons by rail. Putin said in 2023 that Russia was planning to give Belarus tactical warheads that could be deployed from Minsk's Su-25 attack jets. Still, analysts think that while the base is built up to store those nukes, it's unlikely there are warheads there now. "It's more likely that the weapons that are assigned to the site are stored in a national-level site," said Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. He believes the warheads are likely in Bryansk, about 200 miles away in Russia.
Indian Express
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Global nuclear risks build up: Here's the list of top 9 countries with nuclear arms in 2025
A 'dangerous new nuclear arms race is emerging at a time when arms control regimes are severely weakened,' the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stated in its Yearbook 2025, as almost all the nine nuclear-armed states continued intensive nuclear modernization programmes in 2024, upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions. In its annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security, SIPRI revealed India to be possessing 180 nuclear stored warheads as of January 2025, while Pakistan has an estimated 170. Meanwhile, China has 600 nuclear warheads as of January 2025, of which 24 are deployed warheads or those placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces. Nuclear-armed states around the world The nine nuclear-armed states include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel. The Yearbook highlights that of the total global inventory of an estimated 12,241 warheads in January 2025, about 9,614 were in military stockpiles for potential usage. An estimated 3,912 of these warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft and the rest were kept in central storage, as per the SIPRI report. Around 2,100 of the deployed warheads were kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles. Mostly all of these warheads belonged to Russia or the USA. Both these countries together possess around 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons, the report noted. Here's the list of top 9 countries currently possessing nuclear weapons: The list concludes the total inventory, which includes both stockpiled and retired warheads, to be 12, 241, in 2025. Here, military stockpile refers to all deployed warheads as well as warheads in central storage that could potentially be deployed. Whereas, retired warheads include those that have been retired from the military stockpile but have not yet been dismantled. Besides the top 9 nations, there lies potential for more states in East Asia, Europe, and Middle East to develop their own nuclear weapons in the near future. Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), said: 'The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the cold war, is coming to an end.' 'Instead, we see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric and the abandonment of arms control agreements,' Kristensen added.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
E2E Tech 100 partner OakNorth: 'Supporting these businesses is a privilege'
OakNorth's partnership with E2E on the Tech 100 is indicative of this mission, and Kristensen considers it OakNorth's privilege to be able to support these businesses on their growth journeys. Describing OakNorth's own journey, Kristensen outlines the exciting upcoming product expansion, and the impact the bank has had in the US since opening there in 2023. For more information and to see the full E2E Tech 100 2025 list click here.
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Business Standard
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Danish Ambassador condemns terrorism, shows sympathy toward India
Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen, Danish Ambassador to India noted that Denmark was among the first nations to denounce the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Kristensen, in conversation with ANI, said that Denmark, as a non-permanent UNSC member, has condemned terrorism and made it clear to the Indian government as well. "Denmark was among the first countries to not only express its sympathy and condolences to the Indian government and to the Indian people in the aftermath of the horrific terror attack that happened, but we were also very strong in condemning terrorism wherever it takes place, and this has been a consistent Danish line, so we have made that very clear to the Indian government. We have also made it very clear at the UN Security Council, where we are currently a non-permanent member," he said. Kristensen said that Denmark does not have any specific cooperation on counter terrorism with India. But Denmark cooperates with India in the UN and elsewhere. "As for the bilateral cooperation, we don't have any specific cooperation on counterterrorism, but of course we cooperate with India and other countries in multilateral fora, whether it's the UN Security Council or elsewhere to fight this fight terrorism wherever it occurs because this is a strong Danish position," he said. He said that Denmark has a strong relationship with India, where in 2021, both countries established a green strategic partnership. "I think Denmark today has a very strong relationship with India. Back in 2021, we established a green strategic partnership. This was the first, not the first strategic partnership, of course, that India has with other countries, but it's the first green one, and I think that that is also an indication of what it is that you know we can offer each other," he said. He added that India can use the extensive skills Denmark has to offer in the field of technology. "Denmark has a lot of experience within the green transition, whether it's energy, water, agriculture, or how you make that more sustainable, and India is already making a lot of progress, but it has a lot of scale that we don't have. So I think it's a perfect match in terms of Denmark offering some skills, and India has this massive scale where you can test and try out these technologies and solutions," he said. The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, arrived in Denmark on Friday. Indian Ambassador to Copenhagen, Manish Prabhat, received the delegation. The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation was given a detailed briefing by Prabhat on India-Denmark bilateral relations of "Green Strategic Partnership", shared values and issues of mutual concern, including the challenge of combating terrorism globally. The delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari, M J Akbar, Ghulam Ali Khatana and Samik Bhattacharya; Amar Singh from Congress MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena (UBT) and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in France, the UK, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark.
