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Russia’s Nuclear-Capable Tu-95, Tu-160 Bombers Deployed Near NATO Border As Tensions Escalate With Ukraine

Eurasian Times, By Sakshi Tiwari, May 15, 2023

With Russia’s continuous use of its strategic bombers, including the Tu-95 and the Tu-160, for launching conventional stand-off attacks on Ukraine, satellite images have revealed that there has been an unexpected surge of these bombers in Russia’s north close to the NATO border.

A fresh set of satellite images of the Olenya Air Base in Russia’s Kola peninsula revealed that about 16 strategic bombers had been deployed to this air base close to the NATO countries, Finland and Norway, The Barents Observer reported. The air base is located in the closed town of Olenegorsk-2, which is an hour’s drive south of Murmansk.

The base currently houses 14 Tu-5 bombers, two Tu-160 bombers, and two Tu-22M bombers, besides other heavy transport aircraft, as could be shown in the satellite images.

Two Tu-160 are positioned at the southern end, while at all other aprons large enough for heavier aircraft, 14 Tu-95 could be seen positioned side by side. The Tu-22M aircraft are relocated to the parking grounds in the air base’s northwest………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The sudden movement of nuclear-capable bombers close to the NATO border was alarming as Russia’s frequent nuclear saber-rattling accompanied it. The concern was exacerbated as Russia’s central storage for nuclear warheads, Bolshoye Ramozero, is reportedly just 10 kilometers from Olenya Air Base.

At the time, nuclear experts and military watchers noted that the deployment of the nuclear-capable bombers close to the NATO borders was more of “signaling” and did not suggest any “possible threat” to NATO’s security.

However, the experts noted that deploying these bombers so close to NATO states would undoubtedly mean that the NATO countries would have a shorter window of time to intercept Russian bombers in the international air base compared to when they are flying from the Engels Air Base. https://eurasiantimes.com/tensions-escalate-as-russia-deploys-scores-of-nuclear-capable/

May 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized