Nuclear War

Gaza war to Ukraine nuclear fears: Conflicts that shaped 2024 geopolitics

Wars in Europe and West Asia intensified in 2024, exposing the failures of global peace mechanisms, deepening crises, and straining alliances, with Trump's return adding fresh uncertainty

Bomb survivors use Nobel Peace Prize win to share anti-nuke message

The recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is a fast-dwindling group of atomic bomb survivors who are facing down the shrinking time they have left to convey the firsthand horror they witnessed 79 years ago. Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was awarded for its decadeslong activism against nuclear weapons. The survivors, known as hibakusha, see the prize and the international attention as their last chance to get their message out to younger generations. We must seriously think about the succession of our messages. We must thoroughly hand over from our generation to the future generations, Toshiyuki Mimaki, senior member of the Hiroshima branch of Hidankyo, told reporters Friday night. With the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize, we now have a responsibility to get our messages handed down not only in Japan but also across the world. The honour rewards members' grassroots efforts to keep telling their stori

Nobel Peace Prize 2024 awarded to Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo

Nihon Hidankyo is a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as Hibakusha.

King Jong Un marks delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers

North Korea marked the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units at a ceremony where leader Kim Jong Un called for a ceaseless expansion of his military's nuclear program to counter perceived US threats, state media said Monday. Concerns about Kim's nuclear program have grown as he has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea and authorised his military to respond with preemptive nuclear strikes if it perceives the leadership as under threat. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the launchers were freshly produced by the county's munitions factories and designed to fire "tactical ballistic missiles, a term that describes systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons. Kim said at Sunday's event in Pyongyang the new launchers would give his frontline units overwhelming firepower over South and make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and .

Russia starts nuclear drills amid West's deepening role in Ukraine

Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it began a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons. The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine. It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises. According to the ministry's statement, the first stage of the new drills envisioned practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, including nuclear-capable Kinzhal and Iskander missiles. The maneuvers are taking place in the Southern Military District, which consists of Russian regions in the south, including on the border with Ukraine; Crimea, illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014; and four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed in 2022 and partially occupies. The drills were announced on May 6, with the

Belarus launches nuclear drills after Russia announces them amid tensions

Belarus on Tuesday launched drills involving missiles and warplanes capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, which close ally Russia has deployed there amid tensions with the West over Ukraine. The Belarusian maneuvers began a day after Russia announced plans to hold similar drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons in what it cast as a response to statements by Western officials signalling possibly deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine. It was the first time such an exercise had been publicly announced by Moscow. Belarus' Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said a unit of Iskander short-range missiles and a squadron of Su-25 fighter jets will take part in the drills. The maneuvers, held jointly with Russia, began as Russian President Vladimir Putin was inaugurated to a fifth term on Tuesday, vowing to ensure Russia's security. Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus, which also borders Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and

Drone attack on Russia's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases accident risk

The head of the UN's atomic watchdog agency said Sunday a drone attack on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident." In a statement on the social media platform X, Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed at least three direct hits against ZNPP main reactor containment structures took place. This cannot happen, he said. He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when he set out five basic principles to avoid a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences. In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at the plant, including at one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported, it said. "Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor's containment system it added. Officials at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said that

Rehearsed delivering a massive retaliatory nuclear strike, says Russia

"Practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place during the training," the Kremlin said in a statement on the nuclear drills

At UN, North Korea says accuses US of fomenting an Asian NATO: Report

North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of making 2023 an extremely dangerous year, saying its actions are trying to provoke a nuclear war and denouncing both U.S. and South Korean leaders for hysterical remarks of confrontation that it says are raising the temperature in the region. Kim Song, North Korea's U.N. ambassador, also said Washington was trying to create the Asian version of NATO, the military alliance that includes European nations and the United States and Canada. Kim came out swinging in his speech to world leaders with harsher words than he brought to the same U.N. General Assembly meeting last year. Such strong language is always noteworthy from a nation developing its nuclear program but is also hardly uncommon from Pyongyang, a government that sometimes weaponizes hyperbole in its public statements. Owing to the reckless and continued hysteria of nuclear showdown on the part of the U.S. and its following forces, the year 2023 has been recorded as an ...

Iran not currently developing nuclear weapons: US intelligence report

A U.S. intelligence assessment says Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons at the moment but has ramped up activities that could help it develop them. The assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released Monday says Iran has moved to increase its capacity to produce an atomic bomb since 2020 but has stopped short of that so far. The findings corresponded with previous U.S. assessments about Iran's nuclear program, although many in Congress and elsewhere have been skeptical of those. The Biden administration has been defending its desire to return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, since it first took office. That effort has been complicated in recent months by the suspension of its chief negotiator, Rob Malley, who was placed on unpaid leave last month pending an investigation into claims he mishandled classified information. "Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development ..

China plans to triple nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035 amid tensions with US

China is mulling tripling its stockpile of nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035, as tensions with the United States are expected to increase further over Taiwan, Kyodo News reported

India, Pak came 'too close' to nuclear conflagration in 2019: Mike Pompeo

I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over in a nuclear conflagration

UN General Assembly president sees greatest nuclear risks in decades

UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi has warned that the world is facing risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear catastrophe not seen in decades

Putin ally Kadyrov calls for 'using low-yield nuclear weapons' in Ukraine

In the wake of Russian troops' withdrawal from the strategic town of Lyman, the leader of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, called for using "low-yield" nuclear weapons on the battlefield

Japan bans chemical weapons goods export to Russia amid nuclear war threat

Japan expressed grave concern about Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine as the top government spokesman on Monday announced an additional ban on exports of chemical weapons-related goods to Russia. As the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, we strongly demand that the threat or use of nuclear weapons by Russia should never happen, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference. Matsuno was responding to a question about US national security adviser Jake Sullivan's comments Sunday on CBS news that the United States will act decisively in case of a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine. Asked if Japan approves of the possible use of nuclear weapons by the United States against Russia, Matsuno refused to comment on the grounds that it was a hypothetical question. Japan's government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organisations, including science laboratories. The .

Full-scale nuclear war could kill 5 billion people, shows new study

Five billion people would die in a modern nuclear war with the impact of a global famine, likely to far exceed the casualties caused by lethal blasts, a new study showed

There can be no winners in nuclear war, it must never be unleashed: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there could be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, noting that Russia Federation followed the letter and spirit of NPT.

Ukraine war: Why Moscow could go nuclear over Kyiv's threats' to Crimea

ar in Ukraine is about to head into its sixth month, the ferocity with which it is fought shows no signs of abating neither on the battlefield, nor in the rhetoric emerging from Moscow and Kyiv

Russia says risks of nuclear war must be kept to minimum

Vladimir Yermakov, the foreign ministry's head of nuclear non-proliferation, said all nuclear powers must stick to the logic laid out in official documents aimed at preventing nuclear war

Serious risk of a nuclear war real; Nato using proxy, says Russia

US, allies pledge heavy arms for Ukraine, brushing off Russian N-war warning