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VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS
A New York Times study shows the safety innovations expressed in the Russian nuclear garage facility at a Cold War-era ammunition depot.
By Christoph Koettl
The New York Times, source: Maxar Technologies
A newly added air system.
A unique security check.
And a triple fence, a bunker.
These new security features and other innovations at an ammunition depot in central Belarus reveal that Russia is building facilities there that can space nuclear warheads. If Russia were to move weapons here, it would be the first time it would store them outside the country’s gates since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russia already has nuclear warheads on its own soil, close to Ukraine and NATO countries, but by placing some of them in Belarus, the Kremlin appears to be seeking to increase its nuclear risk and nuclear deterrence.
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin referred to this early last year, saying that Russia would soon complete the structure of a “special garage for tactical nuclear weapons” in Belarus.
The New York Times analyzed satellite imagery and photographs and spoke with weapons and nuclear weapons experts to track the new construction, which began in March 2023.
The site is located two hundred kilometers north of the Ukrainian border, at an army depot near the town of Asipovichy. Some of the newly built structures have features unique to nuclear garage services located on bases in Russia. The secure domain is surrounded by 3 layers of fencing, in addition to the existing security perimeter of the entire base. Another telltale sign is a covered cargo domain connected to what appears to be a hidden Soviet-era underground bunker.
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