Vladimir Putin Open To Using Nuclear Missiles Against Islamic State Group, But Hopes It Is 'Never Needed'
Putin Could Go Nuclear On Isis
Paul Vale— The Huffington Post UK
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The mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion by the Americans of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. Known as Operation Ivy, this test represented a major step forwards in terms of the destructive power achievable with atomic weapons. The hydrogen, or fusion, bomb used a fission device similar to those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, detonated inside a container containing deuterium. The high temperatures invol
Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images
Vladimir Putin has floated the notion of using nuclear weapons against members of the Islamic State, according to quotes published by the Kremlin. The state's press service claimed on Wednesday that the Russia's President and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed launching nuclear-tipped cruise missiles at Isis positions in Syria during a recent meeting at the Kremlin.
Shoigu told the president that conventional Kalibr cruise missiles had already been fired from the Rostov-on-Don submarine in the Mediterranean. Putin added that the Kalibr missiles could be equipped with a nuclear warhead, but said he hoped they would "never be needed."
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Putin: 'Precision weapons that can be equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear'
Moscow launched its air campaign against targets in Syria on September 30. Last month, Russian authorities revealed its refurbished National Defence Control Centre, a monstrous, fortified operations base in he heart of the capital next to the Moskva River from which military officers oversee attacks.
Putins War Room
(01 of09)
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A meeting on the Russian Air Force operation in Syria held by Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the National Defense Control Center (credit:TASS / Barcroft Media)
(02 of09)
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting on the Russian Air Force operation in Syria at the National Defense Control Center (credit:TASS / Barcroft Media)
(03 of09)
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu seen during a meeting on the Russian Air Force operation in Syria at the National Defense Control Center (credit:TASS / Barcroft Media)
(04 of09)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov (credit:Alexei Nikolsky/SPUTNIK, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
(05 of09)
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Army General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Russia's First Deputy Defense Minister, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (credit:TASS / Barcroft Media)
(06 of09)
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu seen during a meeting on the Russian Air Force operation in Syria at the National Defense Control Center (credit:TASS / Barcroft Media)
(07 of09)
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"For Ours" is written on a bomb attached to a Russian war plane in preparation for a combat mission in Syria (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(08 of09)
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A Russian air force technician writes "For Paris" on a bomb attached to a Russian war plane in preparation for a combat mission in Syria (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(09 of09)
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Local Islamic State group headquarters hit by two cruise missiles during the attack of Russian warplanes in Syria (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)