Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during celebrations for Navy Day as it rains in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region, Russia, July 26, 2015.
- Russia could be storing nuclear weapons at a recently renovated underground bunker in the Kaliningrad region roughly 30 miles from the Polish border, according to a report released by a nuclear watchdog on Monday.
- The findings show the bunker is now an active site.
- This will likely increase concerns about Moscow's nuclear activities in the region at a time of heightened tensions between NATO and the Kremlin.
Russia could be storing nuclear weapons at a recently renovated underground bunker in the Kaliningrad region roughly 30 miles from the Polish border, according to a report released by a nuclear watchdog on Monday.
Satellite images showed the site being excavated beginning back in 2016, renovated, and then covered in 2018, which suggests it could be returning to operational status, according to the report from the Federation of American Scientists.
"The latest upgrade obviously raises questions about what the operational status of the site is," Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said in the report.
"The features of the site suggest it could potentially serve Russian Air Force or Navy dual-capable forces. But it could also be a joint site, potentially servicing nuclear warheads for both Air Force, Navy, Army, air-
Kristensen told The Guardian that the bunker "has all the fingerprints" of Russia's standard nuclear storage sites, and while there have been upgrades at the site in the past, none have been as "dramatic" as this one.
"There is a heavy-duty external perimeter of multilayered fencing," he added. "The bunkers themselves have triple fencing around them as well. These are typical features from all the other nuclear weapons storage sites that we know about in Russia."
In short, it's not clear whether Russia is currently storing nuclear warheads at the facility or is planning to, but this shows the bunker is now an active site.
Moreover, these developments will likely increase concerns about Moscow's nuclear activities in the region at a time of heightened tensions between NATO and the Kremlin, Kristensen told Business Insider.
"The upgrade has been known to NATO for some time," Kristensen said. "But it would appear to reaffirm Russia's nuclear posturing in Kaliningrad and is likely to deepen eastern European concerns that Russia is increasing the role of nuclear weapons in the Baltic region."
Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had developed and was testing an array of new strategic nuclear-capable weapons he claimed could outmaneuver American defenses.
"I would like to tell those who have been trying to escalate the arms race for the past 15 years, to gain unilateral advantages over Russia, and to impose restrictions and sanctions… the attempt at curbing Russia has failed," Putin said at the time.
Kaliningrad also happens to be a base for Russia's Baltic fleet and is one of the venues for the 2018 World Cup, which is occurring over the next few weeks.