MOSCOW - The Russian Defence Minister, Mr Igor Rodionov, said yesterday the country's armed forces were in such a "horrifying state" that the reliability of its nuclear weapons systems was in doubt, Interfax news agency said.
Mr Rodionov, who outlined his fears in a letter to President Yeltsin and the Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, suggested nuclear command and control centres were in decay because of a lack of funding.