Vladimir Putin Directs Military Operations Against Syria From Dr Strangelove's War Room
Putin Directs Military Operations From Dr Strangelove's War Room
Paul Vale— The Huffington Post UK
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Russia’s beefy leader Vladimir Putin has a Hollywood-style war room from which to direct the military campaign in Syria, fresh pictures reveal. The National Defence Control Centre, a monstrous, fortified operations base in he heart of the capital next to the Moskva River, offers the president a platform from which to attack the Islamic State and degrade the enemies of leader Bashar al-Assad.
Russia's National Defence Control Centre in Moscow
The enormous, multibillion-dollar space, which opened last week, looks like an amalgam of the war rooms from the 1981 Cold War classic 'War Games,' Stanley Kubrick's 1964 comedy ‘Dr Strangelove’ and the hollowed out volcano in the James Bond caper ‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967). From here, Putin can oversee Russian military action around the world, including the launching of nuclear missiles. The building was completed last year and is part of a 10-year plan to modernise the entire Russian military.
'Hello Joshua...'
'You can't fight in here, this is the war room...'
Russian airstrike in Syria started in September with Moscow claiming the campaign was directed at the Islamic State. However, Western intelligence suggested Russian targeting was far broader, including rebels fighting the beleaguered Syrian president. Following the downing of the Russian Metrojet plane last month, Moscow's military efforts have reportedly been refocused onto the Isis militants.
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)