The Russian railway train, which the Western media called "nuclear" because it seemed to be carrying nuclear weapons towards Ukraine, belongs to one of the bases responsible for the storage and transportation of nuclear weapons of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Radio Svoboda writes about it.
On Sunday, pro-Russian Telegram channels published a video and photo of "an ordinary railway train with military equipment going to the front by rail somewhere in the central strip of Russia." The author of the channel drew attention to the fact that the train carries Vystrel armored vehicles with Spitsa combat modules, which include a 30-millimeter cannon and an automatic grenade launcher.
Independent military experts have drawn attention to the fact that Vystrel with Spitsa complexes have so far been used only in the 12th GU of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Based on this, Western media concluded that the train was carrying nuclear weapons.
The publication writes that in this part, under the cover of a regime of strict secrecy, multimillion-dollar embezzlements took place for many years, the "income" from which was taken abroad. Journalists found out that the train was coming from military unit 14118 near the village of Abramovo. This part belongs to the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, although it is not mentioned as a place for storing nuclear ammunition.
The former director of NATOʼs Center for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, William Alberk, said that the military equipment could have been on its way to the training of the strategic nuclear force "GROM", which is usually held in mid-October. Alberk also notes that there are no known nuclear weapons storage sites near military unit 14118. To the south of the military unit is the training and tactical center of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation — the railway branch in the unit is the closest to it, and further to the training center is a few kilometers along an asphalt road. Theoretically, part of the equipment from the train could be there.
The journalists also found out that the military unit itself, from where the "nuclear train" left, is an ordinary rather small base where equipment is stored and a sump for railway cars. At the same time, the data on state procurements indicate that the unitʼs activity is limited to the maintenance of the vehicle fleet.
- The Center for Combating Disinformation stated that the spread of news in the Western media about Russiaʼs preparations for a nuclear attack on Ukraine is another stage of information terrorism organized by the Russian Federation in order to induce Ukraine to negotiate on the Kremlinʼs terms.