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March 2, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 2
Putin promises guns and butter in state of the nation speech
tation that Putin delivered, replete with a series
of videos showing off Russia’s latest missiles, submarines and state-of-the-art fighter jets, most of which he claimed have been specifically design to defeat the US's defensive capabilities.
The speech is likely to cause a hysterical reaction in the West and might be taken as the formal start of a real Cold War II as a new arms race was the only bit missing until now.
Putin explicitly pointed to the US decision in 2002 to unilaterally withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), which was the cornerstone of the balance of military power in Europe, and then its follow-up with the introduction of a mis- sile defence shield, for which US-made intercep- tor missiles were stationed in Romania and Po- land in 2017 over Russia’s strenuous objections.
“We tried to talk to our partners. Russia is a major nuclear power. They kept ignoring us. No one
was talking to us. So listen to us now,” said Putin as Russia’s new rockets flew across wall-high screens behind him.
However, Putin made it explicit that Russia was not going to be the aggressor and stressed that his military build up was forced on Russia, in his opinion. Ever the legalist, he stressed that the development of these weapons are compliant with all Russia’s military and security commitments and also laid out in explicit terms Russia’s rules of engagement for the use of nuclear weapons:
in retaliation to a first strike by an enemy or if the use of conventional weapons poses an existential threat to Russian sovereignty. Putin complained that under the US new nuclear policy Washington could launch nukes in the event of a cyber attack on the country.
The main feature of the new missiles is they are designed to beat the US new missile policies and Putin suggested that this programme has been worked on for years. As bne IntelliNews reported in a cover story “Rekindling a new Cold War
as Russia rearms” Russia began actively modernising its military in 2013 and former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin was sacked as early as 2011 for objecting to a massive increase in military budget slated for the 2012 budget that kicked the process off.
In particular Putin boasted about the new Sar- mat missile, a heavy rocket that can carry a 200 tonne payload but flies at hypersonic speeds and is highly manoeuvrable. The key element of this missile is it is rangeless and can fly at high speeds right the way around the world, dodging defences as it goes.
Since the US withdrew from the ABM treaty its policy has been to switch development from first- strike ICBMs to developing much more sophisti- cated interceptor missiles. Putin is claiming that Russia has now negated this defence capacity and so made the US vulnerable to a Russian strike. “There is no defence against these missiles and all our missiles are now equipped with this sys- tem. Maybe in a few years [the US] will catch up, but in the meantime our guys will have thought of something new,” says Putin with a satisfied smirk on his face.
In addition Putin showcased unmanned subma- rine drones that are “faster than any surface ship” and “hundred times smaller than a regular sub- marine” but can carry a full nuclear payload. The drones are undetectable and again there is no de- fence against a weapon like this that makes both the eastern and western US seaboards vulnerable to attack.
“[The US] has created a new arms race and imposed sanctions designed to hold us back.
But [the development of the new weapons] has already happened. You were unable to hold us back,” said Putin to a standing ovation by the col-