Nuclear Weapons

Key takeaways Ukraine is increasingly launching drone strikes deep into Russia and threatening Russian-annexed Crimea, both steps that many once feared would result in nuclear retaliation from Moscow. Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats aren’t as effective as they used to be, in part because it’s not clear what using a nuke…

If an inspector wants to verify a nuclear treaty on Earth, they can enter a facility, open containers, and inspect equipment. In space, there is no door to knock on. That problem has shadowed the Outer Space Treaty since 1967, when countries agreed not to place nuclear weapons in orbit.…

A Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket launches the Kosmos-2553 satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Feb. 5, 2022. Some outside observers have speculated that Kosmos-2553 might be testing components for a future orbital nuclear weapon. (Image credit: Russian Defense Ministry) A constellation of cubesats fitted with special detectors could sniff out nuclear weapons…

For almost 60 years, the world’s most powerful militaries have agreed not to put nuclear weapons into orbit around Earth. But the Outer Space Treaty (OST), ratified in 1967 by the U.S. and Soviet Union as tensions between the two superpowers were at their peak, has no teeth; it’s effectively…

CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Tuesday compared the capabilities of the most advanced artificial intelligence models to nuclear weapons in a tacit defense of the Trump administration’s recent hard line on controlling the release of the most powerful AI technology. “In conversations with many of the president’s other national security…

Economic sanctions will never be strong enough to denuclearise North Korea. The only realistic path runs through radical political reform. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes weapon tests (Image: AP/Korean Central News Agency) The dust has now settled on the ostentatious summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North…

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has announced plans to arm the country’s navy with nuclear weapons and build a fleet of 10,000-tonne warships, signalling a significant escalation in Pyongyang’s military ambitions. Kim made the declaration on Tuesday at the commissioning ceremony of the Choe Hyon, a 5,000-tonne warship, in the…

An unarmed Minuteman 3 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches during an operational test May 20, 2026 Credit: U.S. Space Force WASHINGTON — Kelly Hammett, the former head of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, has been named executive director of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. The appointment, announced June 18, comes…

US President Donald Trump said a framework agreement to be signed with Iran this week makes it "loud and clear" that Tehran will not develop or acquire nuclear weapons as the two sides try to move toward ending their war. "The ⁠only thing ‌that really matters to me is Iran…

By Alex Kimani - Jun 15, 2026, 6:00 PM CDT A 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire framework reportedly reopens the Strait of Hormuz, but it remains a temporary and contested arrangement rather than a full political settlement. Key elements—especially sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets, and future oil export normalization—are still unclear, with…