Informal discussions on nuclear weapons between the United States and China resumed in March for the first time in five years, Reuters first reported on June 21, with Beijing delegates assuring their American counterparts that they would not resort to using nuclear threats over Taiwan.
Russia is considering changes to its nuclear doctrine due to developments "related to lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons," Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed while speaking on June 20 in Vietnam, a day after his visit to North Korea.
Nothing can be ruled out if Russia finds itself on the verge "of a catastrophic defeat," including the use of tactical nuclear weapons by Moscow, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the National Security and Defense Council secretary, said in an interview with The Times published on June 16.
NATO countries are in discussions to deploy more nuclear weapons on standby, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Telegraph on June 16 as Russia continues to threaten the use of nuclear weapons.
Russia deploying nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine would be "inadmissible," the Group of Seven (G7) warned in a joint statement on June 14 as the two-day G7 summit in Italy drew to a close.
Following the death of a Polish soldier stabbed at the Polish-Belarusian, Warsaw reintroduces its buffer zone and demands that Belarus extradite the suspected attacker. Belarus joins in the second stage of Russian nuclear drills, simulating the combat use of tactical nuclear warheads, with the aim of undermining Western support for
NATO officials rarely comment on the alliance's nuclear arsenal, but Jens Stoltenberg said the U.S. was modernizing its nuclear weapons stationed in Europe.
Officials from both Cuba and the U.S. have said none of the vessels are carrying nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
Russia might be storing up to 100 nuclear warheads in Kaliningrad Oblast, located approximately 260 km (160 miles) from Warsaw, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski claimed on June 11, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.
The latest drills will see Russian and Belarusian forces working on training "for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons", the Russian Defense Ministry said on June 11.
Two years ago, I outlined eight lessons from Russia's war against Ukraine. And though I warned that it was too early to be confident about any predictions, they have held up reasonably well. When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he envisaged a
Belarus will participate in the second stage of Russian drills simulating the launch of tactical nuclear weapons, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced on June 10.
The United States may have to increase its deployment of strategic nuclear weapons amid growing threats from China, Russia, and other adversaries, a White House official said on June 7.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Kremlin has sought to play the nuclear card – both to frighten Ukraine and to deter the West from assisting. Kyiv and its partners cannot ignore Moscow’s nuclear threats, but they should understand that the Russian leadership does not
Russian leader Vladimir Putin arrived in Uzbekistan's capital on May 26 to hold discussions with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations.
"The Americans have told the Russians that if you explode a nuke, even if it doesn't kill anybody, we will hit all your targets (positions) in Ukraine with conventional weapons, we’ll destroy all of them," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Guardian.
During his visit to Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to discuss the participation of the Belarusian military in Russia's non-strategic nuclear drills, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported on May 24.
The first stage of the drills will begin with the "combat use" of Iskander and Kinzhal ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, equipping their launch, and "covertly advancing to the designated position in preparation for missile launches."
The officials said that Russia had launched a satellite into space in February 2022 to test components for a potential anti-satellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device. However, the satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"A unit of Iskander operational-tactical system and a squadron of Su-25 aircraft are being prepared to carry out their intended tasks," Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.
"This is an example of the kind of irresponsible rhetoric that we've seen from Russia in the past. It's completely inappropriate given the current security situation," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.
The purpose of the exercises is to "maintain the readiness of personnel and equipment" to "unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"It should have been first consulted with the government, not to just come out and say: we want nuclear arms on our territory," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said.
Identified only as Thomas H., the 54-year-old went on trial in Dusseldorf on April 29 charged with conducting espionage on behalf of Moscow and leaking state secrets.
Speaking on April 24, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., described Russia's veto as "baffling."
Speaking to Fakt, Polish President Andrzej Duda highlighted how Russia has already taken similar steps with its own allies, having transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus last year.
Ukraine is among the countries whose residents have the lowest level of fear of a nuclear threat, according to a survey by the Sociological Group Rating conducted in 2023 together with Gallup International and published on April 17.
The Institute for Strategic Studies of the Military School (IRSEM) and the General Directorate for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) surveyed 2,300 young people aged between 18 and 25 last summer.
Key developments on March 9-10: * CNN: US prepared 'rigorously' for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022 * UK, Italy oppose deploying Western troops to Ukraine * UK Defense Ministry: Ukraine increasing fortifications along the front line * Zelensky denounces Pope Francis' proposal to negotiate peace with Russia * Air Force: Ukraine downs
Washington was "preparing rigorously" for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
There will be "tragic consequences" if NATO troops are sent to Ukraine, and the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons," Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed during a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29.
Leaked Russian military documents outline Russia's doctrine for tactical nuclear weapons use, including the minimum criteria for using tactical nuclear weapons, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Feb. 28.
