russian nuclear weapons: growing threat of russian belligerence, including south china sea

• US stalks Beijing’s claims in S. China Sea, Russia increases regional presence

Russian Belligerence

• Russian frigate tried to interfere with carrier Truman
• Russian FSB guard attacked US diplomat outside Moscow embassy
• Kramer and Herbst on scrapping Ukraine’s Minsk agreement

Sources close to Russia’s military say the country is likely to deploy advanced nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, a slice of Russian territory between Poland and Lithuania, by 2019, fueling a standoff between Russia and the West. Russia has said the move is necessary to counter a U.S.-backed missile shield in the area, but experts agree that the country would probably have built the missiles regardless.     U.S. military officials say the shield was built to shoot down missiles from what it describes as rogue states such as Iran.     Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center for Strategic Trend Studies in Moscow, told Reuters that the missiles “are our ace card in the standoff over missile defense and NATO's activity around our borders. We need to use it cleverly. There's a big game going on and we don't want to throw it away at the start. We'll play it when Russia needs it most politically."     Russia experts say the missiles will likely be deployed in Crimea eventually as well.  ​

The Soviet Union’s old doctrine was: You deter World War III with nuclear weapons. Now Russia’s new doctrine: Threaten to use nuclear weapons against any major power that may try to block Moscow from having its way in a regional conflict, a specialist in Russian nuclear strategy said on Monday. – USNI News
 
Josh Rogin reports: In the early morning of June 6, a uniformed Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) guard stationed outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow attacked and beat up a U.S. diplomat who was trying to enter the compound, according to four U.S. officials who were briefed on the incident. – Washington Post