nuclear weapons

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Report: US Speeds Up Upgrade of Nuclear Arsenal in Europe

But there's no connection to Ukraine war, Pentagon says

(Newser) - With nuclear tensions at their highest since the end of the Cold War, the US has stepped up plans to upgrade the arsenal of nuclear weapons it maintains at NATO military bases in Europe, Politico reports, citing a diplomatic cable and "two people familiar with the issue." According...

Pakistan Asks US Ambassador to Explain a Biden Remark

President questioned nation's nuclear weapons safety

(Newser) - Pakistan has questions about President Biden's comment that it's "maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world." Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Saturday he's called in US Ambassador Donald Blome in Islamabad for an explanation, Reuters reports. In a speech Thursday, Biden said...

Biden Speaks on the Risk of Nuclear 'Armageddon'

Says it's at highest level since Cuban Missile Crisis

(Newser) - President Biden said Thursday that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian officials speak of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a fundraiser for the...

After Key Battlefield Loss, a Big Worry Emerges on Putin

Chechen leader urges him to use nuclear weapons, and the West is concerned

(Newser) - Russia suffered another humiliating defeat this weekend when it lost the key city of Lyman —which belongs to a region that Vladimir Putin just claimed to annex . A growing worry in the West is that Putin warned last week that any attack on annexed regions would be considered an...

US Has Been Quietly Warning Russia Not to Go Nuclear

Putin's veiled threat came after months of backchannel warnings: reports

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin's veiled warning about the use of nuclear weapons to defend Russia came after months of backchannel warnings from the US about exactly such behavior. Officials tell the Washington Post and CNN that the US has consistently warned Russia for months in private communications about the grave consequences...

UN Chief: We're a Step Away From 'Nuclear Annihilation'

Antonio Guterres calls on nations to reaffirm Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

(Newser) - The United Nations chief warned the world Monday that "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation." Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave the dire warning at the opening of the long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear...

Iran's Nuke Chief Makes 'Rare' Claim on Atomic Bomb

Country has capability to build bomb, though it doesn't plan to right now, says Mohammad Eslami

(Newser) - Iran could build an atomic bomb if it really wanted to—it just doesn't plan to, at least at the moment. So said Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on Monday, according to the Fars news agency, echoing similar remarks made last month by a...

Iran: We Could Build a Nuke If We Wanted To

Comment from Khamenei adviser comes soon after Biden's Middle East trip

(Newser) - Iran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb, though the country hasn't yet decided whether it will do so, according to a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can...

NYC's Nuke Prep PSA Has People Asking 'Why?'

'Better safe than sorry,' Mayor Adams told reporters

(Newser) - "Don't ask me how or why. Just know that the big one has hit." So says the narrator of a recent PSA about nuclear preparedness from NYC Emergency Management. Per CBS News, the 90-second video opens on an empty street with damaged, computer-generated skyscrapers in the background....

Kim Says He Won't Limit Nuclear Arms to Deterrence

North Korean leader says development of weapons will continue quickly

(Newser) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that his nation could preemptively use its nuclear weapons if threatened, as he praised his top army officials for a large military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, this week, the AP reports. Kim expressed the "firm will" to continue developing his...

Kim Jong Un Warns of an 'Unexpected 2nd Mission'

North Korean leader vows to speed up nukes program, to use them if provoked

(Newser) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons and threatened to use them if provoked, in a speech he delivered at a military parade that featured powerful missiles capable of targeting the country's rivals, state media reported Tuesday. Kim's remarks suggest he'...

Putin: New ICBM Should Make Foes 'Think Twice'

Russia announces Sarmat passed its first test

(Newser) - Russia has had the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile since 2018 . But it wasn't until Wednesday, after launching its offensive in eastern Ukraine, that Russia said the Sarmat had been successfully tested—an announcement packaged with a warning, the New York Times reports. Analysts and other nations have raised the...

I Watched a Nuke Explode. Just Hope You Never Do

Rod Buntzen thinks the talk about Putin and nukes is far too casual

(Newser) - Rod Buntzen thinks the world is being too cavalier in its discussions about the possibility of Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons and what the appropriate response would be. It's not a casual opinion on Buntzen's part, but one born of an experience that's seared into his memory....

Putin Already Changed the Nukes Game
Putin Already
Changed the
Nukes Game

the rundown

Putin Already Changed the Nukes Game

'This war might prove the greatest stimulus to nuclear proliferation in history'

(Newser) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine seems to have rewritten the world's nuclear playbook. While Vladimir Putin has not deployed such a weapon, he has explicitly raised the threat , and that alone may change things going forward. A look at some of the assessments and coverage:
  • The impact: In the
...

The Situation in Which Russia Could Go Nuclear
The Situation in Which
Russia Could Go Nuclear
the rundown

The Situation in Which Russia Could Go Nuclear

'Would he?' is a question being asked and debated

(Newser) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Wednesday that were World War III to begin, it would involve nuclear weapons, reports Reuters . A few days earlier, Vladimir Putin announced he was putting the nation's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, suggesting he was transitioning the country's nukes to a...

Putin: I'm Putting Nuclear Forces on High Alert

He says 'aggressive' moves by NATO leave him no choice

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin on Sunday again raised the prospect of invoking the nuclear option—and not as a metaphor. In a televised address, the Russian leader announced he was putting the nation's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, reports the AP , which sees the move as a "dramatic escalation...

Did Putin Just Threaten to Use Nuclear Weapons?
Did Putin Just Threaten
to Use Nuclear Weapons?
the rundown

Did Putin Just Threaten to Use Nuclear Weapons?

Russian leader issues an ominous threat to nations that 'interfere' with invasion

(Newser) - Just after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine , he warned other nations of severe "consequences" should they step in. Just how severe? Some are interpreting his remarks as a veiled, or even not-so-veiled, threat to use nuclear weapons. Coverage:
  • The warning: "Whoever tries to interfere with us,
...

China's 'Around the World' Missile Test Raises Alarms

'They look like a first-use weapon,' Gen. John Hyten says of hypersonic missile

(Newser) - The second-highest figure in the US military says a hypersonic missile China tested in July "went around the world," raising the possibility of a surprise nuclear attack on the US. "They launched a long-range missile. It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that...

China May Already Have a Nuclear Triad: Pentagon

Report says country's nuclear force is growing faster than predicted

(Newser) - China is expanding its nuclear force much faster than US officials predicted just a year ago, highlighting a broad and accelerating buildup of military muscle designed to enable Beijing to match or surpass US global power by mid-century, according to a Pentagon report released Wednesday. The number of Chinese nuclear...

Scientist Made Nuclear Power of Pakistan— and Others

US confronted president with evidence of Abdul Qadeer Khan's double-dealing

(Newser) - Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist most responsible for making Pakistan a nuclear power who became a rogue dealer of nuclear technology and equipment, has died. He was 85. Doctors said Khan had COVID-19 and died of breathing difficulties, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pakistan held a state funeral for him...

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