US Pentagon warns of possible nuclear war

12/07/2021 – 19:40

Criticised China and Russia for developing nuclear weapons

The United States Department of Defense (DOD) has released a report which warns of a potential nuclear conflict and laments other countries for developing new types of nuclear weapons.

While the Pentagon makes clear that the US are proceeding with the denuclearisation of the country, other powers such as Russia or China do not seem willing to do so.

“While the United States has continued to reduce the number and salience of nuclear weapons, others, including Russia and China, have moved in the opposite direction,” reads the report.

“Since 2010 no potential adversary has reduced either the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy or the number of nuclear weapons it fields.

“In addition to modernising ” legacy” Soviet nuclear systems, Russia is developing and employing new nuclear warheads and launchers.

“China has developed a new road-mobile, strategic, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM); a new multi-warhead version of its DF-5 silo-based ICBM; and its most advanced ballistic missile submarine armed with new submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).”

The two Pentagon reports

While the first report, one which was released by the Pentagon in 2019, stressed that the use of a nuclear weapon will “create conditions that affect how commanders will prevail in conflict,” the recent report claims that “flexible and limited US nuclear response options can play an important role in restoring deterrence following limited adversary nuclear escalation.”