- The Ukrainian spy chief claimed the Wagner Group almost reached the Russian nuclear base at the end of June.
- The mercenaries had rebelled under Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had ordered the march to Moscow.
- Kirilo Budanov told Reuters The base, Voronezh-45, reportedly housed a small nuclear weapon that could fit in a backpack.
The Ukrainian intelligence chief said Wagner mercenaries were about to reach a Russian nuclear base during an uprising against the Kremlin in late June. Reuters reported on Monday.
Ukrainian intelligence officer Kirilo Budanov said the base, called Voronezh-45, was stockpiled with small Soviet-era nuclear bombs, each of which could be carried by a single person in a backpack.
“If you’re prepared to fight to the last man, this is one of those establishments that really raise the stakes,” Budanov said, according to Reuters.
Reuters reported that Budanov did not say how he obtained the information or provide any evidence for his claims.
A similar claim was made during Wagner’s Rebellion, but he was the first official to make such a claim publicly. Pro-Kiev partisan group “Atesh”operating in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
Reuters also obtained similar information from an unnamed Kremlin source, who said Wagner forces had infiltrated a “special interest area” where nuclear stockpiles were being stored, thus “inciting” the United States. “I did.”
The Department of Defense said at the time that He said the insurgency was a domestic issue and he didn’t think the United States had any problem with Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
but, Washington Post On June 24, citing an unnamed US official, he said there was “great concern” among US government agencies about the potential use of Russia’s nuclear weapons if the Moscow-Wagner civil war erupted. .
Reuters said in a report Monday that it had tracked surveillance footage and privately posted video in the Voronezh region, showing some Wagner fighters breaking away and moving east towards Voronezh 45. It partially supports Mr. Budanov’s claims.
Wagner’s rebels would have passed through Voronezh on their way to Moscow from the city of Rostov-on-Don, which they captured on 24 June.
Reuters could only track the fighter to about 110 miles from the base, but Budanov said the fighter wanted to go further and seize the ammunition inside.
It’s unclear how close they got to their destination. Prigozhin called off the uprising on June 24 after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he helped strike an agreement between director Wagner and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Russia has not stated whether nuclear weapons are stored at Voronezh-45, but the base is believed by outside observers such as the Russian government. Russian nuclear force project become one of 12 main depositories of the Kremlin.
Regarding the small nuclear devices described by Budanov, the Soviet Union once colloquially “Suitcase type nuclear weapon” It can be carried by one person. The United States also designed such portable weapons during the Cold War.
But even if the Voronezh-45 contained such ammunition, It is unlikely that the bomb would still be effectivebecause the production and routine maintenance of these weapons was discontinued decades ago by Moscow and Washington.
It is also unlikely that private military personnel such as Wagner had the knowledge to independently equip and deploy nuclear weapons.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.
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