WASHINGTON: In an attempt to pressure Russia to rejoin a bilateral treaty to limit number of nuclear weapons, the US has declared that it has 1,419 deployed nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
The US Department of State released the information publicly although it had decided earlier not to share the data. The release follows a scare that spread on Ukrainian social networks that during the Russian strike on an ammunition depot in Khmelnitsky, Ukraine, a large batch of British depleted uranium (DU) tank ammunition was also destroyed.
The disclosure by the US followed claims by pro-Russian figures that there was a clear spike in gamma radiation in Khmelnitsky on or about May 12th. “Considering how little gamma radiation comes from depleted uranium, this clear spike indicates that there was a very large stockpile of DU munitions that was destroyed, raising the uranium dust into the air,” an expert said.
In February this year, Russia had walked out of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which had come into force in 2011 and was extended for a further five years in 2021. It limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy.
Despite Russia suspending its participation, the US State Department said in a statement on Tuesday, “US continues to view transparency among nuclear weapon states as extremely valuable for reducing the likelihood of misperception, miscalculation, and costly arms competitions.”