Russia's Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Compared to U.S.

Nuclear weapons have drawn a renewed international focus due to recent geopolitical factors, with Russia and the United States leading the way.

The two global superpowers combined are in possession of about 89 percent of the world's total inventory of nuclear weapons, and 86 percent of the stockpiled warheads available for use by the military, according to various nuclear studies within the past nine months.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, combined with the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that has led to violent upheaval in the Middle East, have exacerbated global tensions and renewed focus on security and defense, including nuclear inventories.

The war in Ukraine has surpassed 20 months and led to hundreds of thousands of reported casualties without any resolution in sight. Aside from fighting on the ground and in the skies, nuclear threats have become common rallying calls on behalf of some Russian officials and political commentators who have touted their nation's capabilities in comparison with the rest of the world.

The U.S. is neck and neck with Russia in terms of nuclear stockpiles and has in recent years approached the issue with a bigger sense of urgency to combat potential threats from Russia, China and North Korea. Some critics, however, say the U.S. is not doing enough on the nuclear front to prepare for potential future warfare.

In late October, the U.S. House of Representatives took bipartisan action to increase nuclear spending for present and future stockpiles, defense and energy security, and uranium enrichment.

The resolution, approved by a 210-199 vote, provides about $56.96 billion in discretionary spending toward the 2024 fiscal year, including a $1.11 billion proposed defense spending increase over the current fiscal year. If passed, it would include $19.114 billion for the continued modernization of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and infrastructure.

"Generally speaking, right now the Weapons Activities budget is focused on ensuring that the U.S. has the capability to modernize and dismantle existing nuclear warheads, and to design and produce new warheads as needed," Michael Duitsman, research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey [in California], told Newsweek via email.

"Less than a third of the budget is for maintaining the current stockpile; the rest is dedicated to infrastructure and science, engineering and industrial capabilities."

Russia, U.S. dominance in nuclear inventories

Reports from numerous think tanks and international security apparatuses indicate that Russia's nuclear inventory slightly exceeds that of the U.S.

A report published in March by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) states that nine countries possess about 12,500 warheads in total. While most nations have a few hundred weapons on deck in case of national security disruptions, stockpiles continue to increase—representing somewhat of a strategic shift, as overall inventory is declining across the board but the pace of such reductions is slower now compared to 30 years ago, the FAS said.

Such reductions are also occurring because the U.S. and Russia are continually dismantling previously retired warheads.

"In contrast to the overall inventory of nuclear weapons, the number of warheads in global military stockpiles—which comprises warheads assigned to operational forces—is increasing once again," the report reads.

"The United States is still reducing its nuclear stockpile slowly. France and Israel have relatively stable inventories. But China, India, North Korea, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, as well as possibly Russia, are all thought to be increasing their stockpiles."

Statistics published by FAS estimated Russia's total nuclear inventory, which includes stockpiled and retired weapons, to be 5,889, while the U.S. has 5,244 warheads.

The next-closest nation is China with 410, followed by France (290), the United Kingdom (225), Pakistan (170), India (164), Israel (90) and North Korea (30).

Newsweek reached out to the FAS via email for further information.

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, said during a recent appearance at a national expo in Moscow that Russia's nuclear prowess bests all other nations. He touted the national security benefits "for decades to come."

"For the first time in the history of the existence of nuclear missile weapons, our country is ahead of its competitors in this domain," Patrushev said, according to the state-owned RT television channel.

About one year after its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his nation's suspension of the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) nuclear arms control treaty that aims to reduce Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear forces. Other discussions to continue the treaty past its 2026 expiration date were also suspended.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which has published statistics that mirror those of the FSA and others, said in its annual nuclear armament assessment in June that Russia's invasion of Ukraine stunted international efforts for nuclear diplomacy.

"In this period of high geopolitical tension and mistrust, with communication channels between nuclear-armed rivals closed or barely functioning, the risks of miscalculation, misunderstanding or accident are unacceptably high," SIPRI Director Dan Smith said in the report. "There is an urgent need to restore nuclear diplomacy and strengthen international controls on nuclear arms."

The war that has erupted in Gaza between Israel and Hamas following the militant organization's deadly October 7 attack has sparked additional nuclear tensions. Israeli officials have alluded to either using, or pondering use of, nuclear bombs and/or threats as potential remedies to the ongoing on-the-ground bloodshed.

Russia has paid attention to such calls. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said this week that such threats should be responded to by the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, including the U.S. that she claimed could be behind such threats.

Nikolai Sokov, senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, told Newsweek via email that Russia has taken a two-pronged approach to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.

"Russia, it seems, pursues two goals: its traditional policy of talking to everyone, even though as far as I recall, they right away classified the October 7 attack as terrorist; and two, strengthening their relationship with Gulf states, first and foremost UAE (United Arab Emirates) and the Saudis.

"I disagree with those who primarily look at Russian [and] Iranian relations [as] the Gulf states are vastly more important for Russia. China, incidentally, takes almost exactly the same approach, hence their positions are very similar."

A report published in May by the Center for Strategic & International Studies argues that the U.S. has lost some global credibility in terms of security guarantees based on nuclear advancements made by countries like Russia, China and North Korea.

"In a new era of strategic competition, the 21st-century threat environment is changing in ways that the United States cannot readily manage or control....In nearly all future scenarios this project explored, the United States suffers a credibility problem," reads a summary of the findings.

"It will be increasingly difficult to assure allies that the United States is prepared to employ U.S. nuclear weapons in defending their vital interests if necessary. It will require a shift in the way future administrations consult, plan, train and operate with allies."