Russian state television listed U.S. military facilities that the Kremlin would target in the event of a nuclear weapons attack, Reuters reports. Targets reportedly included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md. In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, the presenter of Russia’s main weekly TV news show "Vesti Nedeli," showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war, Reuters reported. ADVERTISEMENT “For now, we’re not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant,” he said, according to the news service. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would retaliate if the U.S. placed missiles in Europe. His remarks came after the Trump administration decided to stop complying with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The U.S. has publicly accused Russia of violating the treaty since 2014 by fielding a cruise missile known as the 9M729. The agreement, signed by President Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, bans nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles. The U.S. currently does not possess ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe, Reuters noted.<doc-sep>Days after President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin wouldn’t back away from a second “Cuban Missile”-style crisis, Russian state TV listed US facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike — including the Pentagon and the presidential retreat at Camp David, according to the New York Post. With tensions mounting over Russian fears that the US might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near American waters. Washington says it has no immediate plans to deploy such missiles in Europe and has dismissed Putin’s warnings as mere propaganda — but President Trump’s decision to leave the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty over an alleged Russian violation has freed it to start developing and deploying such missiles. The Russian strongman has said Moscow does not want a new arms race, but has also ratcheted up his military rhetoric, which some analysts have viewed as a tactic to try to re-engage the US in talks about the strategic balance between the two powers. On a Sunday evening broadcast, TV show Vesti Nedeli presenter Dmitry Kiselyov showed a map of the US and identified several targets that he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war. The targets, which Kiselyov described as US presidential or military command centres, also included Fort Ritchie, a military training centre in Maryland closed in 1998; McClellan, a US Air Force base in California closed in 2001; and Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state. Kiselyov said the “Tsirkon” hypersonic missile that Russia is developing could hit the targets in less than five minutes if launched from Russian subs. Hypersonic flight is generally taken to mean travelling through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound. “For now, we’re not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant,” he said. Kiselyov once said Moscow could turn the US into radioactive ash. Asked to comment on Kiselyov’s report, the Kremlin said Monday it did not interfere in the editorial policy of state TV. UN HEAD URGES US, RUSSIA TO SAVE NUKE PACT UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the US and Russia to preserve the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and to extend the New START Treaty before it expires in 2021. To lose the INF would make the world a more insecure and unstable place, he told the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva on Monday. Washington announced on February 1 that it will withdraw from the treaty in six months unless Moscow ends its alleged violations. “We simply cannot afford to return to the unrestrained nuclear competition of the darkest days of the Cold War. I call on the parties to the INF Treaty to use the time remaining to engage in sincere dialogue on the various issues that have been raised. It is very important that this treaty is preserved.” He said New START was the only international legal instrument limiting the size of the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, and its inspection provisions benefited the entire world, noting that global stockpiles of nuclear weapons were one-sixth of what they had been in 1985. “I urge Russia and the United States to use the time provided by an extension to the treaty to consider further reductions in their strategic nuclear arsenals. I dream of the day when these bilateral arrangements become multilateral.” — With the New York Post.<doc-sep>"For now, we’re not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant." In Russia’s Sights A Russian journalist claims he knows how the nation would retaliate in a nuclear skirmish with the United States. Sunday evening, a TV personality named Dmitry Kiselyov presented a map of the U.S. during his weekly broadcast on the state-owned news channel Russia 24. The map highlighted several places he claimed Russia would target with nuclear missiles if attacked by the U.S or one of its allies — a startling escalation of the growing tensions between the two world powers. Military Targets According to Kiselyov’s map, as reported on by Reuters, Moscow’s nuclear targets would be military centers, including the Pentagon, Camp David, and naval communications base Jim Creek, which is located in Washington state. Kiselyov claimed during the broadcast that the “Tsirkon” hypersonic missiles Russia is currently developing could reach these targets within five minutes of launch from a Russian submarine positioned off the coast of the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement “For now, we’re not threatening anyone,” Kiselyov said, “but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant.” The U.S. dismissed Kiselyov’s claims of the nuclear targets as “disingenuous propaganda,” according to Reuters. The Kremlin, meanwhile, refused to confirm or deny the contents of Kiselyov’s broadcast, telling Reuters only that it doesn’t interfere with state TV’s editorial policy. The comments weren’t Kiselyov’s first foray into nuclear brinkmanship. In 2014, he opined on TV that Russia could “turn the U.S. into radioactive dust.” No Reason While Reuters notes that Kiselyov is close to the Kremlin, several of the nuclear targets mentioned during his broadcast don’t quite make sense. Advertisement Advertisement California’s McClellan Air Force base closed in 2001, but Kiselyov claimed during his broadcast that it’s “where they direct strategic attack forces,” according to a report by Meduza, an independent news agency focused on Russia. Another target, military training center Fort Ritchie, closed in 1998. Why Moscow would choose those closed locations over others that might have a greater impact on U.S. military operations isn’t clear. What is clear, however, is that tensions are simmering between the U.S. and Russia, and both nations are prepared to do tremendous damage to the other if pushed to the breaking point. READ MORE: Russia Names U.S. Targets of Nuclear Retaliation [The Wall Street Journal] More on nuclear war: The Pentagon Needs Help Intercepting “Hypersonic” Nukes Advertisement Advertisement As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent company’s forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. It’s free to join, sign up now!<doc-sep>Our latest glimpse at Russia's hit list reveals a batch of targets that's decidedly weird. On Sunday, February 24 Russian state television broadcast a map of targets it said could be hit by the new nuclear weapons President Vladimir Putin is threatening to bring online. The report mentioned several facilities, some very small and manned by less than two dozen people, in isolated areas near U.S. coastlines. On the outside, some of them have no apparent military use, but Popular Mechanics has uncovered the role of at least one of them in American nuclear war planning. The reason behind this posturing is the impending possible end to the U.S.-Russian INF Treaty that bans certain nuclear weapons. Putin, concerned that the United States could reintroduce intermediate-range ballistic missiles into Western Europe that could strike Moscow in minutes, threatened to counter any such deployment with a Russian deployment of cruise and hypersonic missiles. These missiles would be based nearby or on submarines cruising off the North American coastline. This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. In the TV report, Russian state presenter Dmitry Kiselyov, described by the UK’s Guardian newspaper as “close to the Kremlin,” listed a number of targets scattered across the U.S. that would be struck by the new weapons, stating they could be hit in five minutes or less. (The American Pershing II missile, banned by the INF Treaty, could theoretically hit Moscow in as little as six minutes .) According to Reuters the targets were described as “U.S. presidential or military command centers,” and included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat at Camp David. The list also included Fort Ritchie, Maryland, McClellan Air Force Base, California, and Jim Creek, Washington. Some of the targets, such as the Pentagon and Camp David, are obvious targets in wartime. Others are more obscure or a downright mystery. Fort Ritchie was an above-ground command center for Site R, also known as Raven Rock , which was an underground facility designed to shelter the federal government in the event of nuclear war. However, Fort Ritchie’s role evolved away from supporting the underground facility, and it was closed completely in 1998. McClellan Air Force Base located outside Sacramento, Calif., was the headquarters of Air Force Material Command, but was closed in 2001. Today, McClellan is home to the Air Force's High Frequency Global Communications System, West Coast facility. HFGS is a worldwide network of communications outposts meant to act as relays for phone, data, and messaging for U.S. forces worldwide. It also broadcasts command and control messages for the U.S. nuclear arsenal, including orders to launch. The last facility, Jim Creek , is a communications facility designed to link the U.S. Navy with its ballistic missile submarines that operate out of Kitsap, Washington. Located 55 miles northeast of Seattle, Jim Creek is home to 21 U.S. government personnel that keep the location’s AN/FRT-3 Very Low Frequency (VLF) Radio Transmitting System running 24/7. The facility has more than 360 miles of copper cable conductors to act as a giant antenna. Contractors replacing part of the antenna complex at Jim Creek, Washington. U.S. Navy photo by Robin Hicks Between McClellan and Jim Creek the two facilities handle the bulk of nuclear command and control on the West Coast. The loss of both to a nuclear first strike would cripple America's ability to respond with nukes in kind. By publicly targeting these locations, Russia is stating it has the ability to gain the upper hand early on in a nuclear conflict, negating any perceived American advantage. As for Fort Ritchie, the former Army base's inclusion on the list is still a mystery. Russian state media may have misidentified the facility, or it may have some secret role in America's nuclear warfighting system. Thanks to Bryan Herbert (Twitter: @KE6ZGP) for information on the High Frequency Global Communications System. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>
Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes. The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md. The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a "Cuban Missile"-style crisis if the United States wanted one. With tensions rising over Russian fears the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near U.S. waters. The United States says it has no immediate plans to deploy such missiles in Europe and has dismissed Putin's warnings as disingenuous propaganda. It does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe. However, its decision to quit the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over an alleged Russian violation, something Moscow denies, has freed it to start developing and deploying such missiles. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the United States and Russia on Monday to preserve the treaty and extend a separate agreement limiting the size of nuclear arsenals, the New START Treaty, before it expires in 2021. "We simply cannot afford to return to the unrestrained nuclear competition of the darkest days of the Cold War," Guterres said. "I call on the parties to the INF Treaty to use the time remaining to engage in sincere dialogue on the various issues that have been raised. It is very important that this treaty is preserved." Putin has said Russia does not want a new arms race, but has also dialed up his military rhetoric. The Pentagon said that Putin's threats only help to unite NATO. "Every time Putin issues these bombastic threats and touts his new doomsday devices, he should know he only deepens NATO's resolve to work together to ensure our collective security," Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said. Some analysts have seen his approach as a tactic to try to re-engage the United States in talks about the strategic balance between the two powers, something Moscow has long pushed for, with mixed results. 'Our response will be instant' In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russia's main weekly TV news show Vesti Nedeli, showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war. The targets, which Kiselyov described as U.S. presidential or military command centres, also included: Fort Ritchie, a military training center in Maryland closed in 1998, McClellan, a U.S. Air Force base in California closed in 2001. Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state. Kiselyov, who is close to the Kremlin, said the "Tsirkon" hypersonic missile that Russia is developing could hit the targets in less than five minutes if launched from Russian submarines. Hypersonic flight is generally taken to mean travelling through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound. "For now, we're not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant," he said. Kiselyov is one of the main conduits of state television's strongly anti-American tone, once saying Moscow could turn the United States into radioactive ash. Asked to comment on Kiselyov's report, the Kremlin said on Monday it did not interfere in state TV's editorial policy.