Fears of a third world war have escalated since Russia’s nuclear forces were placed on high alert this weekend by Vladimir Putin.
Fears of a third world war have escalated since Russia’s nuclear forces were placed on high alert this weekend by Vladimir Putin.
The aggressive measures come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left hundreds of people maimed or dead, raising worries about how far Moscow is willing to go to retake the nation.
It came after Putin’s frightening warning last week, when he declared the invasion on Ukraine, that anybody who tries to “hinder” Russia will face “consequences you have never seen in your history.”
Russia possesses the world’s biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons, but they are not the only country with nuclear weapons.
The overall number of nuclear weapons in the world is estimated to be approximately 13,000 at the moment.
We look at the countries with the largest nuclear arsenals, from Russia to North Korea.
1.Russia
Russia has 6,255 nuclear weapons as per January 2021, according to the Stockholm Peace Institute.
Other groups keeping track of nuclear proliferation estimate the amount to be between 5,977 and 6257.
In any case, it’s a greater stockpile than the United States and the following seven countries combined.
Russia’s nuclear arsenal has shrunk dramatically since the USSR disintegrated in 1991, when the country inherited 35,000 warheads.
Russia, on the other hand, has never used nuclear weapons in an assault, though it did test its first nuclear bomb in 1949 in a remote part of Kazakhstan.
2.United States
The United States has around 5,500 nuclear bombs, with 1,800 of them are ‘deployed,’ means they are on missiles or sites with active forces.
The United States, which claims to be a peace-loving and democratic country, is the only country to have ever used an atomic bomb in a conflict.
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A uranium bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people.
Three days later, they detonated a second bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 74,000 people.
3.China
Following the United States and Russia, the number of nuclear weapons in each country drastically decreases.
China is ranked third on the list with 350 nukes, less than a tenth of what the United States has.
During the Cold War, the country created nuclear weapons for the first time, and it is likely to continue building its nuclear arsenal, which has grown by 30 percent since 2020.
4.France
With 290 nuclear weapons, France ranks fourth in the world, and ranks first in Western Europe.
The majority of these weapons are submarine-based, with the remainder being cruiser missiles launched from the air.
In 1960, the nation conducted its first nuclear attack test.
France vows to follow a “strict sufficiency” strategy, maintaining its nuclear weapons at the “lowest strategic level achievable.”
5.United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has estimated 225 nuclear weapons and began its nuclear weapons programme during World War II.
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Arms are deployed at sea and are fired by US-made Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The government has conducted 45 nuclear weapons tests to date, the most recent in 1991.
6.Pakistan
Pakistan possesses 165 nuclear weapons as of 2021, more than its nearest rival India, and plans to create more.
The country’s tense relationship with India has a significant influence on the country’s nuclear weapons manufacturing rate.
Pakistan resumed nuclear weapons testing in 1988, citing national security concerns.
7.India
India has been in an arms race with Pakistan for a long time, with 156 nuclear weapons.
However, recent tense ties with China make nuclear weapons manufacture more difficult.
As a result, every attempt by India to modernise its nuclear weapons will be seen as a threat by Pakistan, escalating the nuclear arms race.
8.Israel
Though Israel has never publicly admitted the existence of a nuclear programme, however, it is believed to have 90 nuclear bombs.
While Country is thought to have had such weapons since the 1960s, unlike the other countries on the list, it has never shown its nuclear capacity through a test.
9.North Korea
With 50 nuclear weapons, North Korea is believed to have the fewest on the list, although it is a notoriously secretive country.
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In 2018, the government agreed to a nuclear and long-range missile testing bans, however long-range missile tests resumed in 2020.
North Korea has conducted many missile tests over the Sea of Japan under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, heightening fears of an assault.
Kim has stated that his country’s military and nuclear weapons would be expanded.
North Korea conducted its greatest nuclear test to date in 2017, with a yield of 100-370 kilotons.
By contrast, the Hiroshima bomb weighed roughly 15 kilotons.
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