(Dan Tri) – Russian media posted a rare video showing an officer carrying a nuclear suitcase accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to China on October 18.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China (Photo: Reuters).
According to Telegraph, videos posted by Russian media on October 18 showed President Putin walking out of the Great Hall in Beijing after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In the security group following the Russian leader is a naval officer carrying a nuclear suitcase.
Two officers carrying a nuclear suitcase accompanied Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to China (Photo: Time).
Mr. Putin is visiting China.
The RIA reporter in the accompanying media group posted the video with the comment: `These suitcases help make President Putin’s trip complete.`
Mr. Putin carries a nuclear suitcase when traveling (Video: Telegraph).
The nuclear suitcase is considered one of the symbols of the Russian leader’s power.
In Russia, there are 3 high-ranking officials who own nuclear suitcases, of which 1 is for the president, the remaining 2 are for the defense minister and the army chief of staff.
In other words, currently, in addition to President Putin, two other Russian officials own nuclear suitcases, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Army Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
This suitcase was carried by officers accompanying the president.
According to Russia’s 1993 Constitution, the president is also commander-in-chief of the army, but in case the president is unable to carry out his powers, all presidential duties fall to the prime minister.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if the leadership is neutralized in a pre-emptive nuclear strike, the decision to respond with nuclear weapons will be made by a group of surviving officers in an underground bunker.
The Soviet Union created the nuclear command and control system at the height of the Cold War in the early 1980s.
The three nuclear suitcases are connected to a backup command network, called the Caucasus, which includes signal cables, radio transmitters and satellites.
If the Russian president decides to launch a nuclear attack, the order will be transmitted from the nuclear briefcase to a receiving device called Baksan, located at the headquarters of the chief of the general staff, missile forces, and navy.
In 2019, for the first time, the Russian Ministry of Defense television channel revealed the components inside this nuclear suitcase and introduced how it works.
Although the nuclear suitcase introduced to the public is an old model that is decades old, this is the first time such a device has been allowed to be presented to the public in an `open` condition.