• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Alexey Arbatov"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [
    "Eurasia in Transition"
  ],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Russia",
    "Eastern Europe",
    "Ukraine"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Nuclear Policy",
    "Arms Control"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Protecting Nuclear Sanity

Dialogue between Russia and the United States is needed to defuse tension and tone down irresponsible statements on both sides about nuclear weapons.

Link Copied
By Alexey Arbatov
Published on Jun 15, 2015
Project hero Image

Project

Eurasia in Transition

Learn More

Source: Defense News

The threat of nuclear war between Russia and the West, long relegated to Cold War history, reappeared last year as the crisis in East-West relations escalated.

Russian strategic bombers now fly long-range patrols near the coast of the US and its NATO allies, while Russian missile tests and military exercises involving simulated use of nuclear weapons raise the specter of nuclear war. The US responds as its defense analysts discuss options for boosting nuclear deterrence in Europe to counter Russian threats.

President Vladimir Putin unambiguously warned the West in August 2014, as the fighting raged in eastern Ukraine, not to forget that "Russia is not to be messed with. I want to remind you that Russia is one of the largest nuclear powers."

All of this has been interpreted in Europe and the US as aggressive posturing intended to intimidate the West. But inside Russia there is a different conversation. In a recent article in the highly regarded Russian defense weekly Voenno-Promyshelnnyi Kuryer (VPK) (Military Industrial Courier), prominent Russian defense expert retired Col. Mikhail Khodarenok draws alarming — for Russia — conclusions about the Russia-NATO military balance and the Russian military's prospects in a hypothetical conflict with the West. ...

Read the full text of this article in Defense News.

About the Author

Alexey Arbatov

Alexey Arbatov is the head of the Center for International Security at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations.

Alexey Arbatov

Alexey Arbatov is the head of the Center for International Security at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations.

Alexey Arbatov
SecurityMilitaryForeign PolicyNuclear PolicyArms ControlNorth AmericaUnited StatesRussiaEastern EuropeUkraine

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Can the EU Stare Down China on Trade?

    The European Commissioner for Trade is headed to China. But after President Xi’s bridge-building visit to Washington, can a more isolated EU overcome Beijing’s stranglehold on critical raw materials? Who will blink first?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Article
    Separable, not Separate: Governing Europe’s Collective Defense

    European NATO countries are wrestling with the possibility of U.S. disengagement from the alliance. With the continent’s security increasingly uncertain, governments must restore the credibility of their collective defense.

      Hans-Dieter Lucas, Adam Thomson, Pierre Vimont

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How Le Pen Benefits from the Stalemate in Ukraine

    The domestic impacts of how long it is taking to end the war in Ukraine have pushed the French electorate to the political extremes and compromised the country’s diplomatic capacity.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Ukraine Poland Zelensky Tusk Enlargement EU
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Uncomfortable Truth About EU Enlargement

    Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.

      • Ditte Brasso Sørensen

      Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen

  • Greenland United States Denmark Agreement Nuuk
    Commentary
    The Denmark-Greenland-U.S. Agreement Needs to Stand the Test of Time

    The new U.S.–Denmark–Greenland agreement will help Washington exert political, economic, and financial dominance under the guise of security. Yet, it acknowledged Copenhagen’s and Nuuk’s sovereignty on the island.

      Marc Pierini

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.