The United States would almost certainly discover ahead of time if Russia was preparing a nuclear strike on Ukraine, and Moscow might very well want it known, nuclear weapons experts say.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons if Russia's"territorial integrity" or existence is threatened.
While military analysts downplay Moscow's threats for now and US officials say they have seen no activity indicating such plans, Western defense and intelligence are closely watching to see if real atomic threats emerge.Preparations for an attack would be evident, Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, told AFP.
They can even be watched closely by commercial satellites, as shown by the widespread, regularly updated imagery of activities at North Korean nuclear facilities. "There are no Iskanders roaming around with nuclear-armed warheads. These weapons are in storage," he said."I'm confident the United States would see any Russian preparations for using nuclear weapons," said Mark Cancian, a former official in the US defense and energy departments who worked on nuclear weapons issues.
Moreover, he added, it is more likely that Russia would want the West to see its preparations as a warning.- Warning the world -
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