Here's how many nuclear warheads Russia has stockpiled for war

A recently published assessment of Russia's nuclear stockpile has revealed updated estimates for the nation's nuclear capabilities.

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The Wall Street Journal has recently published a report stating that Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ordered a selection of Russia's nuclear arsenal to be put on high alert, following the growing tensions between multiple countries after Russia's invasion into Ukraine. The nuclear weapon assessment has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and was written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a senior research associate with the project.

According to the assessment, Russia's nuclear arsenal includes a stockpile of approximately 4,477 warheads, and of these, around 1,588 are strategic warheads that are currently deployed on a variety of missiles located in numerous heavy bomber bases. Additionally, the report states that approximately 977 strategic warheads, with a further 1,912 nonstrategic warheads, are currently held in reserves across Russia. The report also provides a table outlining the names of each of the offensive weapons, the total number of warheads, and more.

"Of the stockpiled warheads, approximately 1,588 strategic warheads are deployed: about 812 on land-based ballistic missiles, about 576 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and possibly 200 at heavy bomber bases. Approximately another 977 strategic warheads are in storage, along with about 1,912 nonstrategic warheads. In addition to the military stockpile for operational forces, a large number - approximately 1,500 - of retired but still largely intact warheads await dismantlement, for a total inventory of approximately 5,977 warheads," reads the report.

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