Anton, who was an officer at a top-secret nuclear weapons facility in Russia, has revealed on the day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin was ready to carry out a nuclear strike
A Russian deserter has revealed Vladimir Putin’s nuclear bases have been on “full combat alert” for more than two years and “were ready to launch” devastating strikes.
Anton, who was an officer at a top-secret nuclear weapons facility in Russia, has remarkably revealed on the day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the base he was serving at was ready to carry out a nuclear attack.
Despite only having exercises up until the Ukraine invasion, on the day the war started, Russia was on “full combat alert” and ready to use nuclear weapons.
He told the BBC: “Before that, we had only exercises. But on the day the war started, the weapons were fully in place,” says the former officer in the Russian nuclear forces. “We were ready to launch the forces into the sea and air and, in theory, carry out a nuclear strike.”
Just three days after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Putin announced that Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces had been ordered into a “special mode of combat service.” Anton revealed the combat alert was ordered on day one of the war.
“All we had was Russian state TV,” said the former officer, “I didn’t really know what it all meant. I automatically carried out my duties. We weren’t fighting in the war, we were just guarding the nuclear weapons.”
The revelations are extremely rare as service members never talk to journalists but Anton has revealed a fascinating insight into Putin’s inner workings. “There is a very strict selection process there. Everyone is a professional soldier – no conscripts,” he explains.
“There are constant checks and lie-detector tests for everyone. The pay is much higher, and the troops aren’t sent to war. They’re there to either repel or carry out, a nuclear strike.”
Anton admitted it was a “close society” and if you wanted loved ones to visit they had to submit a request three months in advance.
“It was my responsibility to ensure the soldiers under me didn’t take any phones onto the nuclear base,” he revealed. “It’s a closed society, there are no strangers there. If you want your parents to visit, you need to submit a request to the FSB Security Service three months in advance.”
Anton, who was part of the base’s security unit, said they had constant training practices in preparation to use nuclear weapons. “We had constant training exercises. Our reaction time was two minutes,” he revealed.
The deserter confessed that work to maintain nuclear weapons is constant and he rejects the idea from some experts that Russia’s weapons are out of date. “There might be some old-fashioned types of weapons in some areas, but the country has an enormous nuclear arsenal, a huge amount of warheads, including constant combat patrol on land, sea and air. The work to maintain the nuclear weapons is carried out constantly, it never stops even for one minute.”
