The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) has revealed that there are an estimated 12,512 nuclear warheads globally, up 86 from a year ago, of which 9,756 are military stockpiles. The number of deployed warheads, 3,844, was also up from the 3,732 warheads, a year ago. Russia and US make up almost 90 per cent of the nuclear warhead arsenal, with Moscow currently leading the chart with 4,489 warheads and Washington coming behind in second with 3,708 warheads. China increased numbers exponentially, with 60 of the new warheads being held by China. Despite the UN's five permanent security council members releasing a joint statement in 2021 saying, "nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought", the rise in nuclear warheads comes despite the UN's five permanent security council members releasing a joint statement in 2021 saying, "nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought".
China has increased its stockpile from 350 to 410 warheads within a year and is preparing to triple its nuclear warheads arsenal to 900 by 2035. This expansion of the nuclear arsenal is difficult to reconcile with China's declared aim of having only the minimum nuclear forces needed to maintain its national security. Since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, numerous threats of a nuclear winter have been espoused, and experts believe that one wrong move of starting a nuclear war could wipe out the entire race from the face of the planet, thus it is necessary that the global nuclear stockpile be regulated.
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