Study Reveals Likely Russia Nuclear Targets in US

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Amid the West’s continued support of Ukraine, the threat of nuclear escalation with Russia has been ever-present as the Kremlin tries to deter further NATO involvement.

Speaking to reporters this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the world would be “one step away from a full-scale World War III” if a direct confrontation between Moscow and NATO occurred, Newsweek reported.

“Everything is possible in the modern world,” Putin reportedly said.

While there is no indication of an impending nuclear clash between Russia and NATO, the results would be catastrophic, according to the “Plan A” simulation published by Princeton’s Science and Global Security program, which estimates there would be 91.5 million casualties within hours of a nuclear conflict and many more in the following months and years.

A Russian nuclear attack on the U.S. would aim to cut essential command and control communications channels, destroy key industrial and commercial zones, cripple nuclear assets, and incapacitate American military and political leadership.

Given their combined political, military, and industrial value, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Houston, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Miami would likely be among the top targets for a Russian nuclear strike, according to the report.

The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia possesses approximately 5,580 nuclear weapons, while the U.S. has about 5,428. Both countries are believed to possess approximately 1,600 active deployed strategic nuclear warheads.

Other high-value targets in a Russian nuclear strike on America include the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland and the Raven Rock Mountain Complex in Pennsylvania, which houses underground Pentagon bunkers.

Radio transmitter facilities, like the Jim Creek Naval Radio Station in Washington state and the Lualualei facility in Hawaii, would be top targets due to their potential communication with American nuclear ballistic missile submarines, which would launch retaliatory strikes.

Major military and nuclear sites such Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, as well as North American Air Defense Command headquarters at the Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, would also be prime targets.

In Amarillo, Texas, the Pantex Plant, the primary nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the U.S., would likely make the Russian list of American targets, in addition to the wide range of nuclear missile sites in Midwest and Western states.