Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm U.S. Eastern Time
Sixty years ago this month, the Soviet Union and the world teetered on the edge of nuclear Armageddon over Russian missile deployments in Cuba. Once again, the world is facing the heightened risk of nuclear war, this time due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s thinly-veiled threats of nuclear weapons use in his war on Ukraine.
Our expert panel provided a detailed analysis of Russian tactical nuclear weapons capabilities, the consequences of their potential use, the pros and cons of potential responses from the United States and the international community to any Russian nuclear detonations, and diplomatic and political options designed to reduce the risk of the first use of nuclear weapons in 77 years.
The panelists were:
- Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists and co-author of the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the World Nuclear Forces overview in the SIPRI Yearbook.
- Rose Gottemoeller, senior lecturer at Stanford University's Institute for International Studies and its Center for International Security and Cooperation, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO (2016-2019), former U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, and the chief U.S. negotiator of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Russian Federation.
- Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association. His latest analysis on the topic, "No Viable 'Nuclear Option' for Russia in Ukraine," was published last week.
- Shannon Bugos, Senior Policy Analyst, Arms Control Association (moderator)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Hans Kristensen's presentation slides (PDF)
- Hans Kristensen & Matt Korda's recent article on "Russian nuclear weapons, 2022," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Rose Gottemoeller's op/ed "Nuclear diplomacy with Russia could avert the threat of Armageddon," Financial Times, October 2022 (paywall)
- Daryl Kimball's editorial, "No Viable 'Nuclear Option' for Russia in Ukraine," Arms Control Today, October 2022
- Shannon Bugos' news report "Putin Calls Up Reservists, Renews Nuclear Threat," Arms Control Today, October 2022