Russia and the Global Nuclear Order
Nicole Grajewski | CNA
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine illuminated the long profound shadow of nuclear weapons over international security. Russia’s nuclear threats have rightfully garnered significant attention because of the unfathomable lethality of nuclear weapons. However, the use of such weapons in Ukraine is only one way—albeit the gravest— that Russia could challenge the global nuclear order. Russia’s influence extends deep into the very fabric of this order—a system to which it is inextricably bound by Moscow’s position in cornerstone institutions such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). From withdrawing from key treaties to stymieing resolutions critical of misconduct, Moscow has demonstrated its ability to challenge the legitimacy, relevance, and interpretations of numerous standards and principles espoused by the West.
Germany Debates Nuclear Weapons, again. But Now it’s Different
Ulrich Kühn | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Germans are debating nuclear deterrence—again. They did so when US President Donald Trump won the White House in 2016; when he almost wrecked a NATO Summit in 2018; when French President Emmanuel Macron offered Europeans a strategic nuclear dialogue in 2020; and when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now that Trump, poised to be the Republican candidate to this year’s presidential election, has casually threatened not to come to the defense of NATO allies should one of them be attacked, Germans cannot help but looking for deterrence alternatives again—including nuclear weapons.
US and Japan Push for Ban on Nuclear Weapons in Space with UN Security Council Resolution
The Guardian
The US and Japan are sponsoring a UN security council resolution calling on all nations not to deploy or develop nuclear weapons in space, the US ambassador has announced. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a UN security council meeting that “any placement of nuclear weapons into orbit around the Earth would be unprecedented, dangerous, and unacceptable.” The announcement follows confirmation from the White House last month that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.
Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Are Now in Belarus
Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer | Foreign Policy
Russia has moved tactical nuclear weapons from its own borders into neighboring Belarus, several hundred miles closer to NATO territory, Western officials confirmed to Foreign Policy, as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens a wider military showdown with the alliance over its continued support for Ukraine. The move, which Putin first announced in June of last year, is likely aimed at ramping up pressure on NATO’s eastern flank. It follows years of nuclear saber-rattling intended to scare the West into paring back its support for Ukraine, now in its third year of war against Russia’s invasion, though top NATO officials insist that the move doesn’t drastically change the nature of Russia’s military threats to NATO.
North Korea says Kim Jong Un Led Salvo Tests of Nuclear-capable Rocket Systems
Colin Zwirko | NK News
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw salvo tests of a “super-large” multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on Monday, according to state media, his fifth appearance at military drills in the last two weeks. The Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday said the test was aimed at demonstrating “unexpected” maneuvers to change firing positions between launches. Photos published with the report show six 600mm MLRS rockets firing simultaneously from six mobile launch vehicles parked next to each other. Pyongyang has said that the rockets can be fitted with nuclear warheads, posing a headache for South Korean missile defenses.
In Historic Shift, Bulgaria Seeks US Help to Escape Russia’s Nuclear Grasp
GABRIEL GAVIN | POLITICO
Russia is losing control over Bulgaria's power grid to the last country it wants to see in Europe's lucrative energy market: the U.S. Bulgaria, which built its only nuclear power station with Soviet Union support almost 60 years ago, is now waiting on new American-developed fuel rods that it hopes will make it among the first former Warsaw Pact countries to end its decades-long dependency on Russia.