Moscow - Unusual video footage emerged on Wednesday, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin's presence in Beijing, accompanied by officers who were seen carrying the infamous nuclear briefcase, a device capable of authorizing a nuclear strike.

After a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Putin was captured on camera walking to another engagement, surrounded by security personnel and trailed by two uniformed Russian naval officers, each bearing one of the mysterious briefcases. The camera zooms in on one of the briefcases.

The Russian nuclear briefcase, known as the "Cheget" (named after Mount Cheget in the Caucasus Mountains), is traditionally entrusted to a naval officer and is kept in close proximity to the president at all times, although it is seldom captured on film.

Kremlin correspondents from the state news agency RIA, posting on Telegram under the video, remarked, "There are certain suitcases without which no trip of Putin's is complete."

In another clip, Putin emerges from a meeting in Beijing, with the naval officers again seen a few steps behind him. He can be seen grinning as he descends a flight of stairs.

The United States President also possesses a similar device, commonly referred to as the "nuclear football." This satchel contains the codes required for the president to authenticate a nuclear missile launch order in case they are not at the White House.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has elevated tensions between Moscow and Washington to levels not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, just as China aims to reinforce its nuclear arsenal in line with its position as a rising global superpower.

Furthermore, Russia's parliament initiated the process of withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on Tuesday, with its top legislator warning the United States that Moscow might even consider abandoning the agreement altogether.

Essentially, the nuclear briefcase serves as a secure communication tool that connects the president with high-ranking military officials and subsequently with rocket forces through the highly classified "Kazbek" electronic command-and-control network. Kazbek complements another system known as "Kavkaz."

Currently, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, also possesses a nuclear briefcase, and it is possible that the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, may have one as well.

Footage aired by Russia's Zvezda television channel in 2019 purportedly revealed one of these briefcases, complete with an array of buttons. In a section labeled "command," two buttons are present: a white "launch" button and a red "cancel" button. Activation of the briefcase requires a special flashcard, according to Zvezda.

One of the nuclear briefcases previously used by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin is on display in the Yeltsin Museum in Yekaterinburg.

Putin's visit to Beijing marks his second known journey outside the former Soviet Union since the Ukraine conflict commenced in February 2022.

News Courtesy Reuters