Photo: Pixabay/geralt
A nuclear bomb being developed by the Biden administration could devastate Moscow, according to a simulation analyzed by Newsweek magazine.
The creation of a new American bomb, a variant of the B61 bomb developed in the 1960s during the Cold War, was announced by the US Department of Defense last week. A Pentagon press release said the B61-13 aims to “enhance adversary deterrence and ally confidence” by providing President Joe Biden with “additional capabilities against certain more difficult and large military targets.”
While the Pentagon has not yet revealed exactly how powerful the bomb will be, officials say it will be able to have an impact similar to the older model, the B61-7. This atomic bomb has a charge equal to 360 kilotons of TNT, which is approximately 24 times the explosive power of the 15 kiloton bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima in Japan during World War II.
A visual representation of the potential event was created using Nukemap, an online tool created by historian of nuclear science and technology Alex Wellerstein. According to the simulation, a B61-13 bomb detonated over Moscow with an estimated maximum yield of 360 kilotons of TNT would cause significant destruction and result in approximately 300,000 casualties.
Everything within a radius of about half a mile (approximately 800 m) of the bomb’s detonation site will be vaporized by a fireball, and the heavy damage will destroy buildings and possibly kill everyone else within a mile radius (about 1 .6 km).
Anyone within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the detonation site would be exposed to such high levels of radiation that they would die within a month, and 15% of survivors would die of cancer within -late stage of life.
According to Nukemap, within about 2 miles of the bomb’s detonation site, buildings will be completely destroyed with a high probability of starting a fire with many deaths and injuries “universal”. Many would suffer fatal burns. There will be additional deaths in a larger region due to the radiation.
The simulation shows that the death toll in Moscow would be around 311,480 and the number of injured would reach 868,860. The population of the Russian capital is estimated at over 12.6 million people.
If dropped on St. Petersburg, the B61-13 bomb could be even more devastating, killing around 360,150 people and injuring nearly 685,930, according to the results of a simulation created by Nukemap.
The US has not threatened to launch a nuclear bomb over Russia, “Newsweek” recalls. Instead, Under Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said in a statement that the development of the new bomb “reflects the changing security environment and increasing threats from potential adversaries.”
In the release, Plumb added: “The United States must continue to assess and deploy the capabilities we need to deter and, if necessary, respond to strategic attacks and to ensure the security of our allies.”
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law his country’s withdrawal from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTB). The US condemned this latest step by the Kremlin, although it was expected, the publication recalls.
“Russia’s actions will only undermine confidence in the international arms control regime,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement, quoted by Newsweek.
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2023-11-04 21:00:00
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