Do the Finnish people feel safer now that they have made t
hemselves a target for Russian nuclear weapons? 

New NATO Member Joins
First Nuclear Weapons Drill
Newsweek

(October 7, 2024) — Finland will take part in a major NATO nuclear weapons exercise next week for the first time since the country joined the military alliance last year, local media reported on Friday.

According to Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, Exercise Steadfast Noon will be launched on October 14 and will last two weeks in the airspace of the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Finland would send fighter jets to the exercise, the report said.

Key.Aero, an aviation news site, reported that the Finnish F/A-18 fighter jets were among the participating units in the exercise. NATO has said the annual exercise, which is long planned, helped to ensure the credibility, effectiveness, and security of its nuclear deterrent.

A Finnish F/A-18 fighter jet prepares to take off from an air base in Norway.

Finland became a member of NATO, an alliance led by the United States, in April last year. The Nordic country, which borders Russia to the east, changed its policy of military non-alignment following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.

The Nordic country, which borders Russia to the east, changed its policy of military non-alignment following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.

After the completion of accession to NATO, Finland’s Defense Ministry said it would take part in the nuclear planning and support operations of the alliance. However, the country has also decided it would not permit the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory.

During last year’s Steadfast Noon exercise, which did not involve live bombs, 60 military aircraft trained over southern Europe, including fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads. NATO said the training was held at least 621 miles from the Russian borders.

The U.S. has deployed B61 nuclear gravity bombs in Europe as part of NATO nuclear sharing arrangements, where the nukes remained under the custody and control of the U.S. military. They would be armed on allied fighter jets in the event of a nuclear conflict.

The Europe-based American nukes served as an extended deterrence to support NATO’s collective security. This commitment, also known as the “nuclear umbrella,” aims to deter and respond to potential nuclear and non-nuclear scenarios in defense of allies and partners.

NATO has said that nuclear weapons are a core component of the alliance’s deterrence and defense capabilities. It said it is committed to arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation, “but as long as nuclear weapons exist, it will remain a nuclear alliance.”

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the U.S. stationed around 100 nuclear gravity bombs in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Among them, the Belgian, Dutch, German, and Italian air forces are assigned an active nuclear strike role.

Russia Places Nuclear-Capable Strategic
Missile Launchers on Combat Duty
Newsweek

(October 7, 2024) — Launch systems for nuclear-capable missiles were brought to “combat patrol routes” in Russia, the country’s state media has reported.

A Yars Nuclear missile complex is seen of Tverskaya Street in Moscow during Victory Day Parade rehearsals on May 2, 2024.

Russian media reported Yars launchers were placed on combat duty in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on October 7, 2024.

The news agency Tass posted video of what it said were launcher systems for the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) being rolled out in Novosibirsk in Siberia. The clip filmed during the daytime shows weapons being driven out of a warehouse and along a road.

The agency said that “the readiness” of personnel and equipment “for long-term duty in the field” were being checked.

The Yars RS-24 (NATO designation SS-29) is a strategic nuclear missile with a range of up to 7,500 miles and an accuracy range of 250 meters (750 feet), according to specialist military and defense outlet Army Recognition. It can be mounted on truck carriers or deployed in silos.

The first Yars RS-24 regiment consisting of three battalions was deployed in 2011, while two battalions of the second regiment were put on combat duty last December.

Tass said that personnel were conducting tasks that included “testing maneuvering actions on the routes of combat patrol as part of combat duty” as well as organizing camouflage and combat protection. “Also, the servicemen will work out issues of countering sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” the agency added.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.