A Russian train was seen transporting equipment from a Russian military unit which handles nuclear weapons, according to an unconfirmed video, CBS News reported.
Konrad Muzyka, an aerospace and defense consultant, told CBS, “Such videos are never released by chance. I’m 100% sure that there was a purpose behind posting or releasing such a video.”
Muzyka said the video is “a very good example of Russian strategy of trying to increase the pressure on the West” and signal that Russia is willing “to escalate the situation.”
It is unclear where the train in the video was heading, but Muzyka said reports that the train was bound for Ukraine are incorrect.
“Going forward, we are going to see more reports about Russian activities that relate to nuclear weapons, that relate to drills of units which can potentially be carrying nuclear warheads,” Muzyka said. “Russia will try to increase the pressure on the West, and it will try to indicate to the world that, from its point of view, the nuclear option is being considered. But, you know, I still think that, to a large extent, it is a bluff.”
The movement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a new veiled threat of nuclear war on Friday, saying the U.S. already set the precedent to employ such weapons.
“The United States is the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons twice, destroying the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Putin continued. “By the way, they set a precedent.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin “wants to scare the whole world,” adding that Putin’s threats of nuclear war “could be a reality.”
“These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail,” Zelenskyy said. “I don’t think he’s bluffing. I think the world is deterring it and containing this threat. We need to keep putting pressure on him and not allow him to continue.”
Meanwhile, experts are restoring 10,000 films chronicling over 200 nuclear blasts, which were performed by the United States between 1945 and 1962. As the films are restored, the once-classified footage is made available to the public on YouTube.
