Bases, tunnels, and missile silos: Russia has undergone a large-scale modernization of its armed forces

Moscow has implemented a large-scale program to enhance the defense capabilities of the Russian armed forces.

This is reported by the Danish publication Danwatch and the German magazine Spiegel in a joint investigation.

The publications have revealed previously unknown details of the massive modernization of military infrastructure at key sites in Russia.

Journalists analyzed over two million documents on military procurement, collected by Danwatch from a public database over several months.

These documents show that new facilities have been built across the country: bases have been rebuilt from the ground up, hundreds of barracks, watchtowers, command centers, and warehouses have been constructed, and kilometers of underground tunnels have been laid.

Among other things, the modernization included the upgrade of the silo housing the “Avangard” maneuverable hypersonic warhead, launched by an intercontinental missile. Danwatch found hundreds of original blueprints of Russian Strategic Missile Forces bases near the city of Yasny, where the “Avangard” has been deployed since 2019.

Both publications emphasize that behind Moscow’s statements about large-scale rearmament are real actions. However, they note that the modernization mostly concerns outdated Soviet systems and does not alter the strategic balance between nuclear superpowers.