Russia is rebuilding Facility 1335, a top-secret underground bunker carved into the granite mountainsides of the Ural Mountains, as part of reported preparations for a nuclear war. The subterranean complex, protected by machine gun turrets, is being modernised with hundreds of millions of dollars invested in tunnels and command centres, according to an investigation by the Dossier Centre, Danwatch and The Sunday Times.
Investigation exposes extent of modernisation
The project was previously thought to have been discontinued at the conclusion of the Cold War. Dmitrii Sukharev, from the Dossier Centre, told an Australian news outlet that the investigation presents a worrying picture of Russia's enhanced nuclear capabilities.
"There are several revelations, including the extent to which Russia's nuclear weapons systems have been modernised," he said. One example is the complex's ability to survive the bunker-busting bombs used by the US in the Iran war.
Kremlin's continued investment since Soviet times
It appears the regime never relinquished its military objectives following the Cold War. "Since Soviet times, the Kremlin has continued to invest huge sums of money into the modernisation of nuclear weapons," Mr Sukharev said.
Facility 1335 serves as the foundation of the Kremlin's "Dead Hand" doctrine that emerged from nuclear tensions during the 1980s. The installation is engineered to provide alternative control pathways to activate missile launchers should contact be severed with the Kremlin's long-wave radio signals.
Purpose and scale of the bunker
Paul Dibb, emeritus professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University, said there is only one target. "It sends a code to Moscow, and if it doesn't hear back, that means the leaders are dead," he said. "So it unloads whatever nuclear missiles were left to wipe out the United States."
According to procurement records from 2018, Moscow has transported enormous quantities of heavy excavation machinery, rock-drilling equipment, steel, piping and cabling to the classified mountain location. The project has consumed approximately 20,000 tonnes of steel, millions of litres of fuel and vast amounts of gas, while ventilation systems and specialist air filtration equipment have also been installed underground to shield occupants from contamination, news.com.au reports.
Uncertain capabilities and warnings
"We don't fully understand the true capabilities of this system," said Mr Sukharev. "What's clear is that it's designed for the event of a nuclear attack on Russia."
He added: "I hope that no one would ever think of using nuclear weapons. In today's world, it makes no sense. There are no winners in a nuclear war."
