Wagner fighters tried to seize Soviet-era nukes to 'raise stakes' in mutiny: Report

Wagner fighters had successfully reached a Russian nuclear base, Voronezh-45, with the intention of seizing small Soviet-era nukes to "raise the stakes" in their recent failed mutiny, reported Reuters quoting Ukraine's head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov. "The doors of the storage were closed and they didn't get into the technical section," he told the news agency.

However, it cannot be fully ascertained whether the Wagner fighters actually reached the Russian nuclear base and there is no independent verification of these claims.

A source close to the Kremlin confirmed to Reuters the presence of Wagner fighters near the base and said that the developmentscaused concern for Americans. However, US officials expressed doubt that the Russian nukes were in any sort of danger.

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According to Reuters, videos posted online and interviews with local residents indicated that while rebellious Wagner forces were heading north towards Moscow on June 24, a separate group of military vehicles diverted eastward on a highway towards a heavily fortified Russian army base known to house nuclear weapons.

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The contingent "managed to get into a zone of special interest, as a result of which the Americans got agitated because nuclear munitions are stored there," the Kremlin source told Reuters.

According to a source quoted by Reuters in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, the incident raised concerns within the Kremlin and played a significant role in hastening the negotiated resolution to the rebellion on the evening of June 24, which was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Security of Russia's nuclear arsenal

Despite this appearing as a significant development in mutiny, experts quoted by Reuters contend that the Wagner fighters would have faced considerable difficulties in detonating the bombs, even if they had managed to acquire these nuclear weapons.

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Matt Korda, a Senior Research Associate and Project Manager for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists argued that it would be "virtually impossible for a non-state actor" like Wagner fighters to breach Russian nuclear security.

"If you had a malicious actor who was able to get their hands on a nuclear weapon, they would find the weapons stored in a state of incomplete assembly," he said adding, "They would need to be completed by installing specialised equipment and then unlocking permissive action links, and in order to do that they would need the cooperation of someone from the 12th Directorate".

The 12th Directorate, also known as the 12th Main Directorate, is a division within the Russian Ministry of Defense that is responsible for the security, storage, and maintenance of nuclear weapons. It specifically focuses on the management and protection of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Budanov said that the nuclear storage facility at Voronezh-45, operated by military unit no. 14254, which is shrouded in secrecy, holds small nuclear devices that can be carried in a backpack.

"This was one of the key storage facilities for these backpacks," he told Reuters.

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On the evening of June 24, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced a negotiated halt to the rebellion brokered by him.Under the agreement, Wagner fighters would either withdraw to Belarus or join Russia's regular army, and no prosecutions would be pursued.

The current whereabouts and future plans of Prigozhin remain uncertain, although his private jet has made multiple trips between Belarus and Russia since the rebellion, Reuters said citing flight tracking data.

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