Putin Says Russia Ready to Use Nuclear Weapons if Threatened

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the U.S. would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict. Putin’s statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in … Read more

Putin says Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty threatened

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the U.S. would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict. Putin’s statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in … Read more

Putin says Russia ready for nuclear war, but ‘not everything rushing to it’

(Reuters) – Russia remains in a state of combat readiness and is fully ready for a nuclear war, but not “everything is rushing to it” at present, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Wednesday. In an interview with state media, Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is nearly certain to … Read more

UN nuclear chief tells Japan transparency is ‘very important’ in ruined nuclear plant’s discharges

TOKYO — The head of the U.N. atomic agency on Tuesday emphasized to Japan’s government the importance of transparency in its ongoing discharges of treated radioactive wastewater at the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi also expressed support for increasing Japan’s nuclear capacity as the country looks to … Read more

Oppenheimer’s Lessons for Nuclear Threats Today

Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the father of the atomic bomb has been a cultural triumph. Besides its artistic achievements—it has racked up awards and shined again at last night’s Oscars—the film touched a deep nerve in society and reignited public conversations around nuclear risks that we’ve not seen since the end of the Cold War. … Read more

13 years after Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan remembers the dead and vows to keep rebuilding

TOKYO — Japan marked the 13th anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear meltdown and left large parts of Fukushima prefecture uninhabitable on Monday with a minute of silence and memorial events, where officials pledged continued support for rebuilding. A 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami ravaged parts of Japan’s northeastern coast … Read more

US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, officials say

In late 2022, the US began “preparing rigorously” for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, in what would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly eighty years before, two senior administration officials told CNN. The Biden administration was specifically concerned Russia might use a tactical or … Read more

The US Buried Nuclear Waste Abroad. Climate Change Could Unearth It

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Ariana Tibon was in college at the University of Hawaii in 2017 when she saw the photo online: a black-and-white picture of a man holding a baby. The caption said: “Nelson Anjain getting his baby monitored on March 2, 1954, by … Read more

Putin threatens nuclear war if NATO troops help Ukraine

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday to take aim at the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries if they send forces to help defend Ukraine from a Russian victory. In a speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly that was predominantly dedicated to the … Read more

Man Charged: Attempt to Sell Nuclear Materials from Myanmar 

Takeshi Ebisawa, a 60-year-old Japanese man—believed by U.S. officials to be a leader within the organized crime syndicate Yakuza—has been charged with conspiring to traffic nuclear substances from Myanmar to other countries with the expectation that Iran would eventually use them for its weapons program. Federal prosecutors said that Ebisawaand three co-conspirators had allegedly been … Read more