RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: RUSSIA HAS STOPPED ALL NUCLEAR-RELATED NOTIFICATIONS TO UNITED STATES, INCLUDING WARNINGS ABOUT TEST LAUNCHES.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian news agencies that Moscow has halted all information exchanges with Washington envisioned by the last remaining nuclear arms pact with the U.S. after suspending its participation in it last month.
Along with the data about the current state of the countries' nuclear forces routinely released every six months in compliance with the treaty, the parties also have exchanged advance warnings about test launches. Such notices have been an essential element of strategic stability for decades, allowing Russia and the United States to correctly interpret each other's moves and make sure that neither country mistakes a test launch for a missile attack.
If Russia terminates missile test warnings, it would mark yet another attempt by the Kremlin to discourage the West from ramping up its support for Ukraine by pointing to Russia's massive nuclear arsenal. In recent days, President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to the territory of Moscow's ally Belarus.
Last month, Putin suspended the New START treaty, saying Russia can’t accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites under the agreement at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal. Moscow emphasized that it wasn’t withdrawing from the pact altogether and would continue to respect the caps on nuclear weapons the treaty set.
The Foreign Ministry initially said Moscow would keep notifying the U.S. about planned test launches of its ballistic missiles, but Ryabkov's statement appeared to signal an abrupt change of course.
Hal Turner Analysis and Opinion
For literally years, both the US and Russia have notified each other about all aspects of their nuclear aresenals; movement of warheads/missiles, test launches and track of test launches, etc. That has now stopped.
Now, when Russia Tests a missile, the US has no way of knowing if it is a test - or real.
This is now the time when mistakes get made.
A misinterpretation. A misreading of direction of travel. A misreading of intent.
I have warned for months that when the nuclear war commences, it will happen like a lighting bolt out of the blue. I have warned that we may get little or NO NOTICE.
Now you know my warnings were right.
This situation between the US/NATO/Ukraine and Russia, is growing more dangerous by the hour.
We are in grave danger.
