Ukrainian “Ears” Will Help Moscow and Washington Make Friends
Russia and the U.S. have signed a memorandum to establish a Joint Shared Early Warning Center in Moscow. This was done to build up confidence between the superpowers and allay fears that a technical error could trigger a nuclear conflict. Ukraine is also going to contribute to the effective functioning of this new center.
As soon as the U.S. and the Soviet Union armed themselves with nuclear weapons, the clever heads in both countries began to work on systems capable of warning in good time ahead about an enemy nuclear attack. Powerful radars were constructed, satellites were put in orbit to constantly monitor whether or not a strategic missile had been launched toward the U.S. or the USSR. Now that Vladimir Putin and Bill Clinton have reached an agreement, the two sides decided to join their efforts in this aspect. A base will be built on the outskirts of Moscow, where the American and Russian military will monitor and verify data about the launches of ballistic missiles, not only theirs but also those of third countries.
However, Russia itself has in fact rather limited capabilities for this kind of cooperation. According to U.S. space surveillance data, last February Moscow lost control of its last geo-stationary satellite watching American land-based missiles. Besides, out of nine Russian satellites keeping track of U.S. submarines, only four are still in orbit. “You can take Russia hands down,” American observers would point out.
After the USSR collapsed, Moscow also lost control over eight land-based radars installed along the Soviet Union’s perimeter. As of today, two early warning radars are functioning in Ukraine, near Sevastopol and Mukachevo. Under a bilateral Ukrainian-Russian agreement, data are supplied from these stations, scanning the Middle East and Northern Africa, to the monitors of the Russian nuclear forces. In return, Moscow must pay Kyiv a derisive sum of about one and a half million dollars a year. But should the joint U.S.-Russian data exchange center be set up, the Ukrainian radars will also work for this new unit whose life story is not so simple.
The U.S. and Russia first agreed to set up a center like this back in 1998 but then froze all negotiations because of Moscow’s condemnation of NATO actions in Kosovo. Later, when fears arose that nuclear forces-related computers might go out of order due to the Y2K problem, the Russian military were invited to Colorado. Over there, in Colorado-Springs, from December 20 till January 15, they could see on radar screens all kinds of data about the launches of U.S. missiles and were able, in case of necessity, to rapidly assure their generals in Russia that no American missiles were flying toward Moscow.
THE CHRONICLE OF “MISSILE FALSE STARTS”
Despite assurances about the perfection of missile early warning radars (EWR) installed today on the territory of the U.S., Russia and the Newly Independent States, technical glitches would still put the world on the brink of a nuclear war. In 1983, a Soviet EWR gave warning about a sudden U.S. nuclear attack. In 1995, Russian forces were alerted because of the launching of a Norwegian weather rocket identified as a missile heading for Russia. Problems were also raised when an EWR classified a Chinese missile test as an individual combat-mission start. In the above-mentioned extreme cases, the Russian leadership had to make a quick decision as to how to react to such threats. Luckily, there was no retaliatory nuclear strike as an “adequate” answer. The Americans would also make mistakes. Once they turned back as far as over the North Pole their nuclear-armed bombers assigned to deliver a retaliatory strike on the Soviet Union.
What is more, the American satellites tracked on October 21, 1999 the two Russian short- range missiles flying from Mozdok and landing at a marketplace in Grozny, claiming the lives of numerous civilians. It is noteworthy that the Russian ministry of defense did not admit the fact of launching their missiles known as SS-21 in the West. So it is not ruled out that the Americans were by far the first to learn about the unplanned flight of our SS-21 from Honcharivsk to Brovary (an SS-21 missile veered off course and hit an apartment house — Ed. ).
