The nine nuclear states — the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel — continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals by deploying new nuclear-capable weapons systems. This is reported in the report of the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
As of January 2023, out of 12,512 nuclear warheads, 9,576 were in storage for potential use, with 3,844 deployed on missiles and aircraft, and about 2,000 (nearly all Russian or US owned) were on high alert.
As follows from the report, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis, countries are increasing the number of warheads: the United States increased their number from 1744 last year to 1770 units this year, and Russia – up to 1674 units from 1588.
In January 2023, the United States remained the leader in the number of deployed warheads – 1770, Russia – 1674, France – 280 (280), Great Britain – 120.
At the same time, Russia significantly outperforms the United States in terms of the number of stored warheads – 2815 against 1938. The total number of warheads – deployed and stored – in the United States has not changed (3708). In Russia, this figure rose from 4477 to 4489. In general, the United States and Russia together possess almost 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, the document says.
It also states that there is a decrease in transparency in this matter on the part of both the Russian Federation and the United States against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine. The suspension of the dialogue between Moscow and Washington on strategic stability is also mentioned.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
