MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin warned the West, stating that Russia was technically prepared for nuclear war and if the United States sent forces to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict.
Russia, inheriting the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons, possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear warheads globally.
According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Putin controls nearly 5,580 nuclear warheads. Approximately 1,200 of these warheads are retired but still largely intact, while nearly 4,380 are stored for use by long-range strategic launchers and shorter-range tactical nuclear forces.
Of the stored warheads, FAS reports that 1,710 strategic warheads are deployed, with approximately 870 on land-based ballistic missiles, 640 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and potentially two hundred at heavy bomber bases. Such vast numbers imply that Russia has the capability to cause destruction on a global scale multiple times over.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union reached a peak of around forty thousand nuclear warheads, while the United States’ peak was nearly 30,000.
Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine:
Published in 2020, Russia’s nuclear doctrine outlines the conditions under which a Russian president would consider using a nuclear weapon. This includes responding to an attack involving nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia when the state’s existence is severely threatened.
US Assessment:
The US, in its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, stated that Russia and China were expanding and modernizing their nuclear weapons. The US committed to an approach based on arms control to prevent costly arms races.
Analysis by FAS:
In its 2024 analysis of Russian forces, FAS noted that while Moscow’s nuclear statements and threatening rhetoric are concerning, there have been few changes to its nuclear arsenal and operations since their 2023 estimates, apart from ongoing modernization efforts. However, it is anticipated that the number of warheads assigned to Russian strategic troops may increase in the future as single-warhead missiles are replaced with multiple warhead missiles.
