All articles tagged with #nuclear weapons
Lithuania’s parliament voted 106-18 to advance a constitutional amendment lifting bans on nuclear weapons and foreign military bases. The Kremlin warned this move, alongside potential U.S. base expansion, risks significant regional escalation. A final vote is scheduled for January 12, 2027, requiring a two-thirds majority.
Lithuania’s parliament voted 106-18 to advance a constitutional amendment removing bans on nuclear weapons and foreign military bases. The change requires a final vote on January 12, 2026. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned the move risks escalating tensions, while U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he would consider establishing a permanent U.S. base in Lithuania.
Lithuanian lawmakers have passed the first of two votes to repeal a constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons and foreign military bases. The move, aimed at bolstering security against Russia, has prompted Moscow to warn of 'significant escalation' and led President Trump to consider establishing a permanent U.S. base in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would deploy 'all weapons,' including nuclear arms, if its exclave of Kaliningrad is attacked. Speaking at the Valdai forum, Putin framed this as a defensive reaction to NATO exercises and hybrid warfare, while acknowledging economic damage from Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.
The Pentagon is expanding the U.S. nuclear arsenal to provide President Trump with more limited strike options, a move that has gone largely unnoticed by the media despite being disclosed to the Senate. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby argues that these new capabilities, including lower-yield bombs and sea-launched missiles, are necessary to deter threats from Russia, China, and Iran without resorting to total annihilation. While the Senate Armed Services Committee has been briefed, public debate remains absent, raising concerns about democratic oversight of nuclear policy.
Vladimir Putin warned at the Valdai Forum that Russia would deploy all weapons, including nuclear, if its Kaliningrad exclave is attacked, framing this as a defensive response to Western threats. NATO dismissed the warnings as unhelpful, while European leaders highlighted rising hybrid attacks.
At the Valdai Forum in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin warned that escalating global conflicts could reach a 'fatal point of no return,' stressing that weapons of mass destruction must never be used. He asserted that Russia would deploy its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad were attacked, while denying plans to strike European countries first. Putin also acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries cost 1% of GDP and confirmed Russia’s interest in a trilateral meeting with US and Chinese leaders.
Moscow issued a formal diplomatic warning to NATO, threatening nuclear retaliation if the alliance attempts to isolate the Kaliningrad exclave. NATO rejected the threat as 'irresponsible rhetoric,' while experts warn the region is now a front line for Russian hybrid warfare targeting European infrastructure.
Russia issued a formal diplomatic warning to NATO, stating it would use nuclear weapons if the alliance attempts to blockade the Kaliningrad exclave. Moscow accused NATO of reckless behavior that risks direct armed conflict, citing recent military exercises and the Baltic Sentry mission. NATO rejected the claims, labeling them 'irresponsible nuclear rhetoric' and affirming that its activities are purely defensive. The exchange highlights rising tensions in the Baltic region, with European officials warning of a 'dark winter' ahead due to intensified Russian hybrid warfare.
A joint investigation by Danwatch, The Sunday Times, and the Dossier Center reveals that Russia has extensively modernized a secret underground nuclear command facility known as Object 1335. Buried deep within Mount Kosvinsky in the Urals, the bunker is linked to the Cold War-era 'Dead Hand' retaliation system. Procurement records from 2018 to 2024 show the purchase of massive quantities of steel, cement, and electrical infrastructure to reinforce the site against nuclear blasts and modern bunker-buster bombs. The facility is designed to ensure Moscow can launch a retaliatory strike even if its leadership is destroyed, with recent upgrades suggesting increased automation of the command process.
Sandia National Laboratories is proposing a successor to the Z machine, the world's most powerful pulsed-power X-ray source, that would be 10 times larger. The current Z machine fires about 200 times a year, delivering 26 million amps from 2,160 capacitors in 100 nanoseconds, generating enough energy to power 100 homes for minutes and causing seismic tremors felt in the nearby Sandia Mountains. The new concept aims to reach extreme densities and pressures currently unattainable, but no cost, site, or timeline has been published.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published and then deleted a column threatening Lithuania with a 'short' special military operation and nuclear strike. The piece, written by Alexander Nosovich, appeared after Lithuania's parliament voted to lift its constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons. RIA Novosti later stated the article did not reflect its editorial policy or Russian state policy.
Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, highlighting peace deals, U.S. actions in the Western Hemisphere, and progress on his Gaza peace plan, while stressing the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as the Iran conflict enters its eighth month; he is also set to meet with Zelenskyy and other world leaders amid broader sanctions, Arctic-security, and Gulf discussions.
Ukrainian drones hit two gas-processing plants in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Arctic, marking Kyiv’s deepest strike and triggering energy-market jitters, signaling Ukraine’s reach into the north. Analysts warn the Arctic is slipping into a dangerous security dilemma as NATO activity grows, Russia expands its Arctic posture with China, and guardrails to prevent miscalculation are thin; the piece argues for renewed diplomacy and risk-reduction measures to prevent the Arctic from becoming a permanent battlefield.
A Nuclear Threat Initiative report finds a dramatic deterioration in U.S. nuclear safety, with the NTI score dropping by 10 points to 66 out of 100—the largest decline on record—blaming the erosion of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's independence during the Trump years and executive orders that undercut NRC oversight, while White House officials defend the reforms as pro-innovation.