This is stated in a published on Monday report Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), excerpts from which leads TASS. The risk of the use of nuclear weapons has reached the highest level since the Cold War due to the fact that the countries of the “nuclear club” are beginning to actively build up their arsenals.
At present, “there are clear signs that the process of reducing nuclear weapons is over”, and “all the powers in the” nuclear club “(Russia, USA, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and CPV) are increasing the number of warheads and carry out the modernization of nuclear arsenals,” according to SIPRI. The strengthening of international tension is also facilitated by the fact that, according to the researchers, most of these countries “aggravate nuclear rhetoric”, and “the role of nuclear weapons in their military strategies is becoming increasingly significant.”
Building up arsenals
According to SIPRI, all countries of the “nuclear club” are actively developing programs related to nuclear weapons, or building up existing arsenals. In particular, “the United Kingdom announced an increase in the limit on stockpiles of nuclear warheads in 2021,” deciding “not to publicly disclose their number,” and France “officially launched a program to develop a third-generation nuclear-armed submarine.” The institute also notes that India and Pakistan are “increasing stockpiles of atomic weapons and developing new delivery systems,” and Israel is “modernizing its nuclear arsenal.” At the same time, the DPRK is “actively testing nuclear weapons” and, according to experts, “has already manufactured 20 warheads, with sufficient resources to produce an additional 45-55 units.” Finally, SIPRI experts say, satellite images show that 300 new launch silos are being built in China.
Deterioration of the international situation
As the report notes, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that “relations between world powers have deteriorated significantly”, which has led to a number of problems in the field of nuclear diplomacy. In particular, negotiations on strategic stability between Russia and the United States, which account for more than 90% of all nuclear weapons, were actually frozen after the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. In addition, the permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, Russia, France, the United States and Great Britain) have not acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the development of Iran’s nuclear program has not yet been agreed upon by the negotiators.
prospects
SIPRI experts conclude that, given the observed changes in the military strategies of the leading global powers and the stagnation of diplomatic disarmament efforts, the world will soon record an actual increase in nuclear arsenals, for the first time since the Cold War. In the future, this trend may turn out to be long-term and “last throughout the next decade,” according to the Stockholm Institute.
Recall, as VL.ru News previously wrote, in Vladivostok, since Soviet times, there have been dozens of underground shelters where you can wait out the bombing. However, among the available bomb shelters known mostly abandoned: with damp walls, dips in the floors, cut metal. The operating bomb shelters are closed to outsiders – they are intended primarily for employees of enterprises of a continuous cycle. In general, in the event of an emergency, it is not planned to hide Vladivostok residents underground – they should be taken to the suburbs to evacuation points.