Putin Orders Defense Chiefs To Strengthen Russia’s Strategic Nuclear Forces Amid Rising Tensions With The U.S.

Russian Topol inter-continental ballistic missiles are pictured during a rehearsal for the nation's annual May 9 Victory Day parade (file photo)

Bloomberg: Putin Tells Defense Chiefs to Strengthen Russian Nuclear Forces

* Shoigu says 95% of nuclear forces are at permanent readiness
* Half of Russian nuclear arsenal is new, defense minister says

President Vladimir Putin ordered defense chiefs to strengthen Russia’s strategic nuclear forces amid rising tensions with the U.S. over the global balance of power.

New weapons should go to “all parts” of the nuclear triad of air, sea, and land forces, Putin told a Defense Ministry meeting in Moscow on Friday. Action must also be taken “to improve the effectiveness of missile-attack warning systems and aerospace defense.”

Russia’s military will have five new nuclear regiments equipped with modern missile complexes next year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the same meeting. More than 95 percent of the country’s nuclear forces are at a permanent state of readiness, he said.

Update #1: Russian Military Told To Boost "Strategic Nuclear Forces Amid Rising Tensions With The U.S." -- Zero Hedge
Update #2: Putin Calls for Improvement in Effectiveness of Nuclear Forces, Air Defense -- Sputnik

WNU Editor: So much for the U.S. - Russian reset at the start of President Obama`s Presidency in 2009.