On Tuesday, a Norwegian intelligence report indicated that Moscow had deployed nuclear-armed ships in the Baltic Sea for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Today, Oslo qualifies his words and argues that the report was misinterpreted.
In the document, quoted by the US portal Politico, it was ensured that "as the importance of nuclear weapons and strategic deterrence forces increases, the defense of military bases in Kola, the Northern Bastion and the Barents Sea by the Northern Fleet also becomes more important.” And he added that "the key part of the Russian nuclear potential is in the submarines and surface ships of the Northern Fleet."
Many interpreted this as a warning of the presence of Russian nuclear weapons on warships. Now, however, Norway softens its words and says it meant Moscow relies on ships that are theoretically capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Pavel Podvig, a senior fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, interviewed by Politico, has said it is highly unlikely that the report indicated that Russia had deployed ships armed with tactical nuclear weapons, adding that intelligence officials The US and others have seen no signs of activity to suggest that Russia is deploying its non-strategic nuclear weapons.
The Norwegian Intelligence Service report noted that an escalation of a localized war into a broader conflict involving the United States, NATO and Norway cannot be ruled out, and warned that tactical nuclear weapons are “a particularly serious threat in several operational scenarios in which NATO countries may be involved”. However, no significant changes to Russian nuclear doctrine are expected in the coming years, according to the Norwegian agency.
