OT? A New Cold War

[RN7]

The best way to knock Russia out would be to blind it. i.e. go for its early warning capabilities.

Russia currently has 58 satellites in orbit including 4 early warning and 2 ELINT/SIGINT satellites, and the GLONASS navigational constellation of satellites which is the Russian alternative to America's GPS. I'd be certain that the USAF could disable, destroy or jam any number of Russian satellites in orbit through using kinetic or laser weapons or electronic warfare packages on an X-37B drone spaceplane or by other means. However attacking Russian satellites in orbit will not be on the agenda due to the fact that Russia would probably launch an immediate nuclear strike on the United States.

Attacking ground based installations might be an alternative.

Russia currently has six rocket launching sites.

Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Dombarovsky (Orenburg Oblast) Russia
Kapustin Yar (Astrakhan Oblast) Russia
Plesetsk (Archangelsk Oblast) Russia
Svodbodny (Amur Oblast) Russia
Vostochny (Amur Oblast) Russia

A military attack on them would provoke the same response from Russia as the United States would react to an attack on Cape Canaveral.

Other ground based installations of interest include satellite control centres, tracking centres and long ranged radar systems.

Satellite control centres
Pican-1 Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Khabarovsk Krai) Russia
Serpukhov-15 Kaluga (Kaluga Oblast) Russia
Titov Space Systems Control Centre-Krasnozamensk (Moscow Oblast) Russia

Rocket and satellite tracking centres
Eysk (Krasnodar Krai) Russia
Kluchi-Barnaul (Altai Krai) Russia
Maloyaroslavets (Kaluga Oblast) Russia
Ternopil (Ternopil Oblast) Ukraine
Ulan-Ude (Republic of Buryatia) Russia
Yeniseysk (Krasnoyarsk Krai) Russia
Yevpatoria (Crimea) Ukraine
Zhelezhnogorsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai) Russia
Znamenka (Tambov Oblast) Russia

Long ranged radar systems
Armavir (Krasnodar Krai) Russia
Balkhash (Kargandy Region) Kazakhstan
Baranovichi (Brest Oblast) Belarus
Gaballa (Qabala District) Azerbaijan
Lekhtusi (St Petersburg Oblast) Russia
Mishelevka-Irkutsk (Irkutsk Oblast) Russia
Mukachevo (Zakarpattia Oblast) Ukraine
Olenegorsk (Murmansk Oblast) Russia
Pechora (Komi Republic) Russia
Sevastopol (Crimea) Ukraine
Sofrino (Moscow Oblast) Russia (ABM engagement radar)

Russia's radar and satellite control network is very widely dispersed over Russia's 17,075,400 square kilometres and neighbouring countries. In the event of NATO intervening during a Russian invasion of Estonia and the other Baltic states, attacking systems in Western Russian districts facing Europe and the Arctic would seriously disable Russia's ability to monitor NATO forces and its own airspace. An attack on GLONASS control centres would also disable Russian aircraft, air defence systems and guided weapons. The question is what do you attack them with before Russia catches on and goes ballistic?