In the latest indication that Moscow is pushing ahead with a major modernization of its armed forces, Russia is constructing numerous nuclear command bunkers, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
American intelligence officials say the building of dozens of underground bunkers has been proceeding for years and is a clear sign that the West should be concerned about the nuclear use doctrine Moscow is adopting.
Recently, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti warned that Moscow is considering using low-yield nuclear weapons in a future conflict in order to conclude it to its advantage, confident that the West would not respond with nuclear weapons of its own.
The general said this is why he insists that the West's nuclear deterrence must be enhanced and taken seriously, especially as the Obama administration has been considering a declaration that it would not use nuclear weapons to stop aggression by conventional forces.
Scaparrotti also said that in addition to its nuclear capability and doctrine, the Russian military has progressed in recent years to become a very serious adversary that must be countered, according to RT.
Other experts in the field come to the same conclusion. Mark Schneider of the National Institute for Public Policy says the West's strategy must be the full modernization of the U.S. nuclear deterrent to counter Russia's massive build-up of new nuclear weapons and defenses, The Daily Caller reports.
The National Institute for Public Policy also explains that the reasoning behind Russian strategy is to use their nuclear buildup and change in doctrine as a way to intimidate and deter Western states fearful of an escalation from attempting to interfere military against Russian expansionism, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
Russia's nuclear war preparations are estimated to cost billions of dollars, which has also brought criticism over past American aid to Moscow that was supposed to have been used to help secure their nuclear facilities and not as a means of enhancing them for military purposes.