September 2, 2003 :: Pravda :: News
Why should one be concerned that the United States is not doing enough on missile defense? Because the Russians are not, either. A story in Pravda cites Lieutenant-General Vladimir Grigorkin as lamenting that the Russian missile defense system now covers “only” thirty percent, as compared to the Soviet days when it protected substantially all of Soviet territory. Grigorkin is praised for his own work on the now old SS-18 “Satan” ballistic missile which was designed to overcome then-potential American defense efforts. The same general is also cited as not being “anxious” about American ballistic missile defenses for the simple fact that they do not pose any threat to Russia’s own offensive deterrent. Critics of President Bush sometimes complain that he is abandoning the policy of mutually assured destruction, and that this is a bad thing, and dangerous to “strategic stability.” In fact, these critics have nothing to complain about, as this does not seem to be the case.
Long before the Buran project, Vladimir Grigorkin participated in construction of launchig pads for different rockets. “I worked for a year in Siberia as the head of a department building silos for the world’s most powerful ballistic rockets. NATO called the rockets “Satans”. They could challenge the US’ most modern anti-missile defense system. One rocket of this type carries up to ten self-guided high-power warheads. On board, the rocket has a considerable number of false targets to mislead the enemy. It’s a pity that it was realized too late; it was important to keep the weapon in operation. The majority of rockets of the type were liquidated. even though they were still operable.”
When Vladimir Grigorkin became the head of the special construction department of the Defense Ministry, the silos were being built across the Soviet Union. Now, we have such rockets in Russia only.
The general is not that anxious about the disputes concerning the so-called anti-missile defense. Some time ago, Vladimir Grigorkin participated in creation of an anti-missile shield around Moscow. He says that nowadays only 30 per cent of Russia is protected from attacks of aerospace vehicles, while in the Soviet era the missile shield covered the whole territory of the country. The general is indignant at the fact that the national defense has such large breaches that we may notice attacks of an enemy on some territories only when we see nuclear explosions over these territories.
Update: The January 23, 2004 edition of Itar-Tass quotes a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry that The United States and Russia “are ready to cooperate in non-destabilizing missile defense.” This is entirely keeping with the non-threatening nature largely characteristic of those American missile defense systems proposed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
(Article)
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