Media: Putin had with him a ‘nuclear suitcase' during his official visit to Finland
A journalist from the Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat (IS), who attended a meeting between Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Punkaharju, saw the so-called "nuclear suitcase" in the hands of the Russian President 's aide-de-camp.
The journalist's estimation is based on the external similarity of the suitcase to the black briefcase that an officer in naval uniform had with him.
"As a rule, the operator of the 'Cheget' device is an officer with a rank not lower than a captain of the second rank. Traditionally the rank has been in the Navy, although it in fact represents the Signals Corps. The officer has a badge from the Signals Corps. Everything indicates that he is the operator of the 'Cheget', and that inside the briefcase is a data communication terminal," said Arto Pulkki, an expert in weapon systems, in the IS commentary.
The "Cheget" device holds the codes for the activation of Russia's nuclear arsenal. One "copy" is kept by the president (Supreme Commander-in-Chief), the second by the Minister of Defense, and the third by the Chief of the General Staff. However, none of them can activate the nuclear forces alone. This requires a coded signal from at least two persons.