All posts tagged: Nuclear weapons

Watchdog warns reliance on nuclear weapons rising amid global tension | Nuclear Weapons News

Watchdog warns reliance on nuclear weapons rising amid global tension | Nuclear Weapons News

Published by Sam

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says Russia and the US possess ‘almost 90 percent of all nuclear weapons’. The world’s nine nuclear-armed states have raised their reliance on nuclear weapons, a watchdog has said. A report released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday said the states increased their spending on modernising their atomic arsenals by one-third last year. The watchdog pointed to the contribution of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to the deterioration of international security. Wilfred Wan, director of SIPRI’s weapons of mass destruction programme, said nuclear weapons have not been seen “playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War”. The report found that the effects of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are “visible in almost every aspect of the issues connected to armaments, disarmament and international security examined”. The nine nuclear armed states – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – modernised their nuclear arsenals and several “deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems …

In Victory Day speech, Putin accuses West of ‘distorting history’ – POLITICO

In Victory Day speech, Putin accuses West of ‘distorting history’ – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

“Today we see how they’re trying to distort the truth about WWII. It interferes with those who are used to building their essentially colonial policy based on hypocrisy and lies,” the freshly (re)inaugurated president told the assembled crowd, according to the Russian press. The Red Army was part of a much broader allied coalition including the U.S., the U.K., Poland, France, Canada and others. Soviet Victory Day, commemorated a day later than the day marked by the other allies, also signals the beginning of the USSR’s half-century occupation of most of Central and Eastern Europe, mass deportations to Siberia and forced collectivization of local economies. Although Russia was only a part of the USSR, today’s Russia has tried to monopolize the Soviet victory as its own, and Putin uses the memory of the war to buttress Russian nationalism. That extends to tarring opponents of his regime as “Nazis.” “Revanchism, abuse of history, and an attempt to justify the current Nazi followers is part of an overall policy of the Western elites to stoke new regional …

Putin orders tactical nuclear weapon drills to deter the West

Putin orders tactical nuclear weapon drills to deter the West

Published by skeptic

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during а meeting of the Federal Assembly’s Council of Legislators in Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 26, 2024. Alexey Danichev | Via Reuters Russia said on Monday it would practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what the Moscow said were threats from France, Britain and the United States. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Russia has repeatedly warned of rising nuclear risks – warnings which the United States says it has to take seriously though U.S. officials say they have seen no change in Russia’s nuclear posture Russia says the United States and its European allies are pushing the world to the brink of confrontation between nuclear powers by supporting Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars of weapons, some of which are being used against Russian territory. Russia’s defense ministry said it would hold military drills including practice for the preparation and deployment for use of non-strategic nuclear weapons. It said the exercises were ordered by President Vladimir Putin. “During …

Russia to practice tactical nuclear weapon scenario in drills to deter West

Russia to practice tactical nuclear weapon scenario in drills to deter West

Published by skeptic

NUCLEAR RISKS Since the war began, Russia has repeatedly warned of rising nuclear risks – warnings which the United States says it has to take seriously though US officials say they have seen no change in Russia’s nuclear posture. Putin has faced calls inside Russia from some hardliners to change Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which sets out the conditions under which Russia would use a nuclear weapon, though Putin said last year he saw no need to change the doctrine. Broadly, the doctrine says such a weapon would be used in response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is put under threat”. Putin warned the West in March that a direct conflict between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario. Russia and the United States are by far the world’s biggest nuclear powers, holding more than …

Macron wants to open ‘debate’ on European nuclear deterrent – POLITICO

Macron wants to open ‘debate’ on European nuclear deterrent – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

France, which has about 300 nuclear warheads, is the only nuclear power in the European Union. The French president has in recent weeks adopted an increasingly tougher stance against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and it’s not the first time that he has suggested using France’s nuclear weapons for EU defense. Macron first hinted at the possible move in 2020, when he called for a “strategic dialogue” on “the role of France’s nuclear deterrent in [Europe’s] collective security,” in an attempt to open discussions on this issue with Germany, which hosts U.S. nuclear weapons on its soil. France then repeated the offer in 2022. So far, Berlin hasn’t taken the French president up on his offer. But in January, Manfred Weber, leader of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and a member of the Bavarian CSU, which is currently part of the German opposition, told POLITICO that Europe should “take up Macron’s offer” in view of building “the European dimension of nuclear defense as a long-term goal.” Source link

‘Oppenheimer’ may have ignored our own nuclear victims. Congress should not. 

‘Oppenheimer’ may have ignored our own nuclear victims. Congress should not. 

Published by Sam

(RNS) — Last summer, the film “Oppenheimer” captured audiences the world over with its depiction of the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb at New Mexico’s Los Alamos Laboratory. The Oscar-winning blockbuster went to great lengths to show the many moral struggles of those involved. To its credit, it also did not shy away from highlighting those who had no qualms with their work and its inevitable result.  The immediate result in question was the August 1945 bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As many as 226,000 Japanese people, mostly civilians, were killed instantly. The radiation and fallout that followed killed many thousands more, making the total death toll all but impossible to know. These Japanese casualties came in for little notice toward the end of the movie. The film had an all but exclusive focus on the Americans who created and deployed this war technology that forever changed the world. But there was one group of Americans who failed to get a mention at all: the casualties of the nuclear weapon development and …

Iran official warns Tehran needs just ‘half a day’ to build nuclear weapon | World | News

Iran official warns Tehran needs just ‘half a day’ to build nuclear weapon | World | News

Published by skeptic

Iran would need only “half a day” to enrich enough uranium to 90 percent of its purity to create nuclear warheads, according to a top Iranian official. Tehran has continued to update and expand its nuclear progamme following the collapse of an international nuclear agreement signed in 2015. The Islamic Republic is believed to have increasingly reduced the time it would require to build a nuclear weapon, fuelling concerns of catastrophic escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Former military commander Javad Karimi-Ghodousi has now claimed it would take Iranian scientists only “half a day or let’s say, one week” to produce enough uranium to create a nuclear warhead. Writing on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Karimi-Ghodousi noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, is “aware” of Tehran’s capabilities. Source link

Russia will ramp up strikes on Western arms in Ukraine, Kremlin warns – POLITICO

Russia will ramp up strikes on Western arms in Ukraine, Kremlin warns – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

“We will increase the intensity of attacks on logistics centers and storage bases for Western weapons,” said defense chief Shoigu, according to Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti. Following Saturday’s approval of a $60 billion U.S aid package by the House of Representatives after months of stalling, the Biden administration is preparing a larger-than-normal dispatch of military aid to Ukraine which will include armored vehicles, in addition to urgently needed artillery and air defenses. The Russian ministry of defense claimed it has destroyed more than 22,000 Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles, 3,500 HIMARS rockets and 600 missiles since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Source link

We’re ready to host nuclear weapons – POLITICO

We’re ready to host nuclear weapons – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin has made veiled nuclear threats toward the West, even stashing atomic weapons in Belarus, which borders NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Duda said nuclear sharing has been the subject of talks between Poland and the U.S. “for some time.” “I’ve already talked about it several times. I must admit that when asked about it, I declared our readiness,” he said. Duda, who recently traveled to New York and met Republican 2024 candidate Donald Trump, spoke fondly of the former president, saying that the two have “a lot of common topics.” “He is a politician with whom I directly cooperated with the United States for four years when he was the president of the United States,” Duda said. “I want to emphasize very strongly that we have been friends since then. I really like talking to him, because he is an extremely interesting personality and has a lot of experience, both political and business.” Source link

Europe needs to ‘wake up’ and face the Iran threat, says Israel’s president – POLITICO

Europe needs to ‘wake up’ and face the Iran threat, says Israel’s president – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

As Israel faces criticism from its allies over the scale of its assault on Gaza, which has left much of the enclave in ruins amid preparations for an Israeli assault on Rafah, Herzog was clear that Tehran is the real enemy. In response to Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel last weekend, the Israeli government launched a strike on Iran on Friday. “If you don’t wake up and be as strong as possible and fight this empire of evil with the coalition that you have in NATO, Europe may pay the price in the future,” said Herzog.  G7 foreign ministers on Friday acknowledged the danger, agreeing that sanctions would be imposed on Tehran should it be found to be supplying ballistic missiles to Moscow. In the interview, Herzog also rejected calls by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for Israel to hold fresh elections as a way through the political turmoil that has racked the country since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. “I would recommend to American political leaders not to intervene as …