Nuclear strategies

The report said current plans for the modernization of the aging planes, ships and missile silos that make up the U.S. nuclear arsenal would cost 50 percent more than if the U.S. only operated and maintained its current equipment in the field.

The US anti-missile system is designed to provide Washington with a "prompt global strike" capability without fear of retaliation. This in turn pushes other countries into building up and upgrading their own weaponry, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The examples of Iraq and Libya have convinced the North Korean leadership that only nuclear deterrence can protect them, so no sanctions can dissuade them, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

North Korea's determination to pursue its policy of becoming a nuclear power continues to endanger world peace. When Kim Jong-un's photos appeared in the international press jubilating his country's latest test of an alleged hydrogen bomb, the international community condemned North Korea for its "unlawful, irresponsible and adventurous" behavior. South Korea launched its own missile test.

NATO countries are considering a reaction of the military organization of the West in the event of a violation by Russia with respect to inter-active nuclear systems, FOCUS News Agency reported.

Russian strategic bombers have conducted strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, using modern Kh-101 strategic cruise missiles. Several weapon stockpiles and a terrorist command center were destroyed in the strike.

The threat of a "nuclear weapon detonation event," be it accidental or deliberate, is now the highest it's been since the end of the Cold War, 26 years ago, a UN agency has warned, saying the risk is rising as relations between nuclear powers deteriorate.

When U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the U.S. military to strike Syria because of its reported use of chemical weapons, Chinese President Xi Jinping was on an official visit to the U.S. Some even suggest that the two presidents were at dinner, sitting next to one another, as the U.S. tomahawks were pounding the Al-Shayrat airbase in Homs.

The U.S. Navy said on April 8 that it had sent a carrier-led strike group to the Korean peninsula in a show of force against North Korea's "reckless" nuclear weapons program.

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NATO and the United States have "no defense" against land-based cruise missiles if Russia deploys them in any quantity, the chief of US Strategic Command told senators, arguing the US must respond to Russian threat "from the position of strength."