Global Powers Ramping Up Nuclear Arsenals: Study

Nuclear powers are actively modernizing and expanding their arsenals amid rising geopolitical tensions, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday.

The think tank estimated that as of January 2023, Russia, the US, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and the Israeli regime had a total of 12,512 warheads, with 9,576 stored in military stockpiles for potential use – an increase of 86 from one year previously, RT reported.

The report also claimed that as of January, Russia and the US – which between them possess almost 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons – had 1,674 and 1,770 deployed warheads respectively. Last year, Russia had approximately 1,588 warheads while the US had 1,744, according to SIPRI.

The think tank noted that “the sizes of their respective nuclear arsenals… seem to have remained relatively stable in 2022, although transparency regarding nuclear forces declined in both countries” following the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine.

Over the course of the year, China’s nuclear arsenal grew from 350 warheads to 410, SIPRI estimated, adding that by the end of the decade Beijing “could potentially have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as either the USA or Russia.”