A 2 Million Documents leaked revealing Russia’s nuclear plans

A joint investigation published Wednesday by the Danish platform Danwatch and the German Der Spiegel magazine revealed more than two million documents in a public database that shed light on Russia’s work to modernize its highly sensitive nuclear facilities.

The documents reveal detailed plans for a strategic missile base near the city of Yasny in the Orenburg region, where the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, one of the most advanced nuclear delivery systems in the Russian arsenal, is located.

“Until now, we’ve only been able to observe these bases from above using satellite images,” Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told Dawnwatch and Der Spiegel.

“Now, thanks to these documents, we can see inside buildings and even underground facilities for the first time… This is completely unprecedented”.

According to an investigation by Danwatch and Der Spiegel, the documents reveal how, over the past decade, numerous nuclear facilities have been demolished and rebuilt, along with extensive infrastructure upgrades, including the construction of hundreds of new barracks, command centers, control towers, and underground tunnels connecting base buildings.

The leaked materials also include construction plans, detailed drawings of security systems, and details of internal signage within these facilities.

“Material like this is a treasure trove of intelligence,” said Philip Ingram, a former colonel in the British Army’s intelligence service.

“If you can understand how electricity is delivered or how water is supplied, and how the systems are linked together, then you can identify strengths and weaknesses and find a vulnerability that can be targeted”.

For his part, Tom Roseth, a senior lecturer in intelligence studies at the Norwegian Defense Command and Staff College, believes that understanding the scope and extent of Russia’s efforts to modernize its nuclear facilities is in the public interest, especially in light of the Kremlin’s repeated nuclear threats since its invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s important to have an accurate picture of the situation, because many people don’t fully realize that Europe is undergoing a radical transformation in its security policies,” Roseth said.

The report stated that despite Russia’s tightening of military procurement rules and the creation of a closed database accessible only to approved local contractors, military construction officials continued to attach sensitive documents to publicly released project announcements.

The Danwatch platforms and Der Spiegel discovered sensitive plans attached to tenders through mid-2024.

Given the magnitude of the leak, the Kremlin may be forced to rethink the entire structure of its nuclear bases, which could be extremely costly, but the level of detail contained in the documents has raised alarm bells, with several experts warning of a Russian security vulnerability that could make major new nuclear bases vulnerable to potential attacks.