The Russian Invasion|The Nuclear Weapons of the Great Powers

Russia's response: Stoltenberg wants to spread fear

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accuses Jens Stoltenberg of escalation, Reuters reports. At the same time, Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin says that Stoltenberg wants to spread fear - but that Moscow will react calmly.

In an interview in The Telegraph, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns of China's nuclear arsenal and says NATO member states are discussing deploying more nuclear weapons to counter threats from China and Russia.

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Jens Stoltenberg warns of Chinese nuclear weapons

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns that China is investing heavily in expanding the country's nuclear weapons capacity. In an interview with Britain's The Telegraph, he says that China may have 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030.

- In the near future, NATO may face something that we have never faced before, and that is two potential adversaries with nuclear weapons, Russia and China, he says and emphasizes that it "will have consequences".

The Secretary General also says that NATO member states are discussing deploying more nuclear weapons to counter the threat from Russia and China.

- A world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons but not NATO is a more dangerous world, he says.

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The number of nuclear weapons is increasing in the world: "Worrying"

The number of nuclear weapons is increasing in the world. This is stated by the peace research institute Sipri in a new report on the importance of nuclear weapons for the great powers. In the reports, Sipri writes that countries increasingly rely on deterrence using nuclear weapons.

The total number of warheads in the world in January was estimated to be 12,121. About 9,500 of them are in military stockpiles ready for use by the nuclear weapon states of the world.

- The trend will probably continue and likely escalate over the next few years and that is extremely worrying, says the institute's director Dan Smith in the report.