The risk of using nuclear weapons has peaked since the Cold War. This was announced by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According to SIPRI experts, nine states of the "nuclear club" - the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea - are modernizing their nuclear arsenals.

At the beginning of this year, about 9,440 of the 12,705 nuclear warheads were in military storage for potential use. Of these, approximately 3,732 were deployed along with missiles and aircraft. About 2,000 - almost all of which belonged to Russia or the United States - were on high alert.

Leaders in the number of deployed nuclear warheads as of January 2022:

• USA - 1744 (total supply - 3708),
• Russia - 1588 (4477),
• France - 280 (290).
  

Although the total number of nuclear weapons decreased slightly between January 2021 and January 2022, they are likely to increase in the next decade, SIPRI notes. According to experts, the problems in the field of nuclear diplomacy have been aggravated due to the deterioration of relations between countries. Thus, due to the war in Ukraine and threats of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, bilateral negotiations between Russia and the United States on strategic stability have stalled.

Source: THE INSIDER