Russia and China may overtake the United States in the number of nuclear weapons. This was stated by the head of the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces, Air Force General Anthony Cotton. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with participants of the “Everything for Victory” forum in Tula, said that Russian strategic nuclear forces have been almost completely updated. Moreover, their marine component is almost 100%.
“With the amazingly rapid development of nuclear weapons in the Russian Federation and China, by 2035 their total number of warheads may even exceed American stockpiles,” Cotton said during a hearing of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, his words were reported by the Ukrainian publication UNIAN. He added that it is necessary to continue the rapid modernization of American nuclear weapons systems.
Washington’s plans to modernize the B61 atomic bomb were voiced in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and indicate that the United States is considering the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia in Europe, military analyst and editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Yuryevich Korotchenko told RIA Novosti.
The Pentagon said the United States has decided to upgrade its main B61 atomic bomb to the B61-13 variant without changing the total number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal. The updated bomb should replace part of the B61-7 stock and will have similar power with higher safety and accuracy indicators, which the most modern modification B61-12 has to date.
“Obviously, the modernization of the B61 aims to increase the flexibility of nuclear response and improve this ammunition. This emphasizes Washington’s commitment to a possible nuclear conflict with Russia in Europe. Of course, we must consider these plans in the context of the conflict in Ukraine,” Korotchenko said. The analyst linked this statement with the recent NATO exercise Steadfast Noon, which was conducted with the aim of practical training of the readiness of the headquarters and aircraft of a number of NATO air forces to carry out combat missions.
The appearance of American nuclear weapons in northern Europe will not strengthen the security of the countries receiving these weapons, but will weaken it, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “If American nuclear weapons appear in northern Europe, the security of the countries receiving these weapons will not only not be strengthened, but it will clearly suffer,” Zakharova said at a briefing on February 29, RIA Novosti reports.
She stressed that other countries on the continent will be forced to take this into account. “You don’t have to be a military strategist to understand: such objects will pose a source of direct threat and, naturally, will inevitably be included in the list of legitimate targets determined by the scenario of a direct military clash between our country and NATO. And we understand that this is exactly what things are being forced towards The USA and its satellites,” she added.
Military expert Konstantin Sivkov noted that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear strike or the threat of loss of sovereignty. “Tsargrad” writes about this. According to him, the authorities may also resort to such actions if the country faces a real danger of losing a number of constitutionally assigned territories. “These are the conditions under which Russia can use nuclear weapons. But I emphasize the word “may”. Or maybe he won’t go,” the speaker said.
In addition, Sivkov called the Russian Federation the only state that is capable of “destroying civilizations.” He noted that this is due to the presence of two types of shells in Russia. We are talking about the Sarmat missile, which could lead to the explosion of the Yellowstone volcano, and the Poseidon torpedo, capable of carrying a warhead, the expert concluded.
Vladimir Putin told NATO countries they risked triggering a nuclear war if they sent troops to fight in Ukraine in his annual address to the nation, escalating his threats against Europe and the United States. Referring to Emmanuel Macron’s comments earlier this week in which he opened the door to sending European ground troops to Ukraine, the Russian president said this would lead to “tragic” consequences for countries that choose to do so, Theguardian reports.
“There have been talks about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine,” Putin said in a combative two-hour address on February 29. “Western countries must understand that we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they understand this? We remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to the territory of our country. Now the consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic.”
Putin called Western warnings that Russia could attack Europe “nonsense” but spoke of a potential nuclear conflict if the West tried to “interfere” in Russia. “They think it’s some kind of game. They are blinded by their own superiority complex,” he said.
Bloomberg: The United States believes Russia will launch nuclear weapons into space in 2024. The United States has told its allies that Russia could deploy nuclear weapons or a mock warhead in space as early as this year, Bloomberg has learned. Putin previously said that Moscow is categorically against the deployment of such weapons in space. The United States has warned its allies that Russia could deploy a nuclear anti-satellite weapon or mock warhead in space as early as this year, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.
The agency’s interlocutors clarified that Moscow, “according to current estimates,” does not yet plan to explode any orbital weapons. However, there is a risk of accident, and a nuclear explosion could potentially cause significant damage to communications and affect about a third of Earth satellites. One of Bloomberg’s interlocutors explained that the consequences of a nuclear weapon detonating in space would depend on the size of the warhead and would not necessarily mean the destruction of satellites, but could lead to widespread disruption.
American media and politicians have been reporting on the threat of Russia deploying nuclear weapons in space since the beginning of last week. Thus, on February 14, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner announced a closed briefing in the US Congress on the issue of “a serious threat to national security.” Later, the coordinator of strategic communications at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, clarified that this is due to Russia’s development of anti-satellite weapons. According to him, American President Joe Biden ordered a direct dialogue with Moscow on this issue and they have already contacted it.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov previously called these allegations a “White House ploy” aimed at persuading Congress to vote for the aid bill to Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is categorically against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Moscow has not deployed and does not plan to deploy such weapons in space.
In the mid-20th century, both the USA and the USSR conducted tests to find out what the consequences of a nuclear explosion in space would be. In 1967, the parties signed the Treaty on the Principles of the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space. Its participants pledged not to place into orbit around the Earth any objects with nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction, not to install them on celestial bodies or to place them in outer space in any other way. According to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, as of April last year there were about 7,800 operational satellites in Earth’s orbit.
The threat of nuclear war has hung over humanity for too long. So far we have survived through luck and brinksmanship. But the old, limited guarantees that held the Cold War in check are long gone. Nuclear powers are becoming more numerous and less cautious. We have condemned another generation to live on a planet that is one major act of arrogance or human error away from destruction, without requiring any action from our leaders. That must change, says the New York Times.
Today’s nuclear era is unprecedented in its complexity. The bipolarity of the Cold War has given way to great power competition with many more new players. With the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the presidency, Iran advancing its nuclear development, and China looking to add 1,000 warheads to its arsenal by 2030, officials in Germany and South Korea are loudly wondering whether they should have their own nuclear weapons, as important voices in Poland, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
The latest generation of nuclear technology can still cause untold damage. Someday, artificial intelligence will be able to automate war without human intervention. No one can predict with certainty how or whether deterrence will work in these dynamics, or even what strategic stability will look like. Establishing new terms of engagement will require a new commitment to diplomatic negotiations that could last for years.