Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and accompanying rhetoric have fueled fears of nuclear weapons use. Leading peace analysts are also concerned.
STOCKHOLM – The world’s nuclear-armed nations are beefing up their nuclear arsenals in light of the war in Ukraine and the world’s overall worsening security situation. This is revealed in the annual report of the Stockholm peace research institute Sipri, which the independent body published today.
From early 2022 to early 2023, the global stockpile of nuclear weapons fell by nearly 200 to 12,512. On the other hand, the number of operational nuclear weapons increased by 86 to an estimated 9,576.
“Global reductions in deployed warships appear to have stalled and numbers are increasing again,” the Sibri report said. At the same time, both the United States and Russia—by far the world’s two largest nuclear powers—have embarked on extensive and expensive modernization programs.
The number of nuclear weapons worldwide has been steadily declining for decades. The main reason for this decline is the phasing out of abandoned warships by Russia and the US. So peace researchers look not only at estimated total stocks, but also at operational weapons.
According to Sibri, nine countries possess nuclear weapons: in addition to Russia and the United States, China, France, and Great Britain, as well as Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. Germany does not have nuclear weapons. dpa
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