Russia will hold its first nationwide drill simulating widespread nuclear strikes on the country, daily Magyar Hírlap writes.
The one-day nuclear attack exercise is based on the assumption that NATO will launch a nuclear strike on Russia, destroying 70 percent of Russian housing and life-support facilities. In the scenario, martial law is imposed in the country and a full-scale mobilization is ordered.
The test will also model the secondary threat posed by damage to nuclear power plants and other key facilities.
State and regional authorities will have to organize emergency rescue teams to provide food, medical supplies and protection against radiation.
According to the preparatory document, there is a need to prepare for an escalation of war, including a global conflict involving nuclear powers.
The permanent relocation of the population from the life-threatened zone will be similar to Chernobyl, involving an internal population transfer on an unprecedented scale.
Putin, meanwhile, is moving to one of his nuclear bunkers around the country to escape the simulated nuclear Armageddon. In the event of a real nuclear war, he has a fleet of “Doomsday” Il-80 Maxdome aircraft that can act as an air control center.
The exercise is being held four days before Putin’s 71st birthday.
Not only is the national disaster exercise seen as a training exercise for nuclear war, but preparations are also underway for a nuclear explosion test in the Arctic Circle.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Soygu visited Novaya Zemlya in August, signaling that tests could soon resume after a break of several decades.