STOCKHOLM: The role of nuclear weapons has become increasingly visible and nuclear states are modernizing their arsenals as geopolitical relations deteriorate, scientists said on Monday, calling on world leaders to “step back and reflect.”
Diplomatic efforts to control nuclear weapons have also suffered major setbacks amid tense international relations over conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says in its annual yearbook.
“Not since the Cold War have we seen nuclear weapons play such a significant role in international relations,” Wilfred Wan, director of SIPRI’s weapons of mass destruction program, said in a statement.
The research institute noted that in February 2023, Russia announced that it was suspending its participation in the 2010 New START treaty – “the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty limiting Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear forces.”
SIPRI also noted that in May, Russia conducted tactical exercises with nuclear weapons near the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, warning in his February address to the nation that there was a “real” risk of nuclear war.
Additionally, SIPRI said the informal agreement between the United States and Iran reached in June 2023 was invalidated after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October.
According to SIPRI, the world’s nine nuclear-weapon states also “continued to modernize their nuclear arsenals, and several of them deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2023.”
These nine countries are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.
In January, of the estimated 12,121 nuclear warheads worldwide, about 9,585 were in stockpiles for potential use, according to SIPRI.
About 2,100 people were kept on “high operational readiness” for ballistic missiles.
Almost all of these warheads belong to Russia and the United States – which together possess almost 90 percent of all nuclear weapons – but this is the first time that China has recognized some of the warheads as being at the highest operational readiness level.
“While the total number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline as Cold War-era weapons are gradually dismantled, we unfortunately continue to see the number of operational nuclear warheads increase year over year,” said SIPRI Director Dan Smith.
He added that the trend was likely to continue and “probably accelerate” in the coming years, calling it “extremely concerning.”
Researchers also highlighted the “continued deterioration of global security over the past year” as the impact of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza could be seen in “almost every aspect” of arms and international security issues.
“We are now in one of the most dangerous periods in human history,” Smith said, calling on the world’s great powers to “step back and reflect.” Best together.”