France to Strengthen Europe's Nuclear Defense Amid Russian Threats — WSJ
France plans to expand its nuclear umbrella over Europe amid threats from Russia. In light of Russian statements about the possible use of nuclear weapons, Paris is resuming production of nuclear warheads and tightening secrecy surrounding information about this type of weaponry.
France is scaling up its nuclear deterrent
France, the only EU country with nuclear weapons, is increasing the level of strategic uncertainty for Russia. The country has approximately 290 nuclear warheads and will now, for the first time in several decades, increase their production and no longer disclose the size of its stockpile.
Thus, the United States will no longer be the only country to deploy nuclear weapons in five European countries (including Turkey). France has already reached agreements with 10 partners.
The following countries have joined the initiative:
the United Kingdom (where its own nuclear weapons are deployed exclusively on submarines),
Germany,
Poland,
the Netherlands,
Belgium,
Greece,
Finland,
Norway,
Sweden,
Denmark.
It involves:
the deployment of French Rafale fighter jets equipped with nuclear weapons throughout Europe,
the creation of new infrastructure, communications systems,
early warning systems, and mechanisms for sharing intelligence.
What this will achieve
The French “nuclear umbrella,” which French President Emmanuel Macron has called “forward deterrence,” creates new challenges for Russia. This was recently stated by Xavier Chatel, the French president’s advisor on strategic issues.
According to him, the project gives France “new capabilities for deploying nuclear forces in the event of a nuclear escalation.” And experts believe it is even more dangerous for Russia than NATO’s nuclear deterrence program.
“France has strategic capabilities” that “complement the existing nuclear guarantees” of the United States, said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide.
The French ASMP-A cruise missiles, mounted on Rafale fighter jets, are designed to strike Russia’s largest cities and have a high probability of hitting their targets. This is an entirely different level of deterrence, military officials and analysts note.
“It’s unclear whether this will convince the Russians that the French would risk exposing Paris to a retaliatory strike, for example, via Warsaw. But the Russians are certainly paying attention to this,” says Nicole Graevsky, an expert on Russia and nuclear issues at Sciences Po in Paris.
This is reported with reference to The Wall Street Journal.
Video: Russian oligarch Malofeev suggested that Putin launch a nuclear strike against Ukraine.
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Russia is considering a nuclear strike on Ukraine — Bloomberg
