Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons Updated July 15, 2021 Congressional Research Service
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CRS RL32572 Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons-2020
| Issues for Congress During the 2010 debate on the New START Treaty, many Senators expressed concerns about Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons. They noted that these weapons were not covered by New START, that Russia possessed afar greater number of these weapons than did the United States, and that Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear weapons might be vulnerable to theft or sale to other nations seeking nuclear weapons. In 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, some Members also raised concerns about the possibility that Russia might deploy these weapons in that region, bringing them closer to the borders of some NATO allies. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ignited these concerns in December 2014, when he noted that Russia had aright to put nuclear weapons in Crimea because Crimea was now apart of Russia The 2018 Nuclear 132 Fora more detailed discussion of Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese nonstrategic nuclear weapons, see Alexander, Brian and Alistair Millar, editors, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, op cit. See also, T oshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes, eds. Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age (Washington, DC Georgetown University Press, 2012). See, also, Hans. M. Kristensen and Matt Korda, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, 2019,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, August 30, 2019, pp. 259-260, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00963402.2019.1654273?needAccess=true . 133 Sergei L. Loiko, “ Russia says it has aright to put nuclear weapons in Crimea Los Angeles Times i, December 15, 2014. Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons Congressional Research Service 33 Posture Review continued to highlight concerns about Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear weapons and linked proposed changes in US. nuclear forces—including the development of anew low-yield warhead for submarine launched ballistic missiles and new sea-launched cruise missile—to Russia’s apparent nuclear doctrine and the modernization of its nonstrategic nuclear forces. The Trump Administration sought to link limits on Russia’s nonstrategic nuclear weapons to U.S.- Russian discussions about the extension of New START in 2020. The Biden Administration extended the treaty without that linkage but has indicated that it supports including discussions about nonstrategic nuclear weapons in its strategic stability dialogue with Russia. During the 2010 debates prior to the completion of NATO’s new Strategic Concept, analysts and government officials also raised many issues about US. nonstrategic nuclear weapons. These debates focused on questions about whether NATO should continue to rely on nuclear weapons to ensure its security and whether the United States should continue to deploy nonstrategic nuclear weapons at bases in Europe. Many of the discussions that focused on Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons and many of those that focused on US. nonstrategic nuclear weapons reached a similar conclusion—there was widespread agreement about the need for further cooperation between the United States and Russia in containing, controlling, and possibly reducing nonstrategic nuclear weapons. The 112 th Congress reiterated its support for this agenda, when in the FY Defense Authorization Act (HR. 4310, §1037) it indicated that the United States should pursue negotiations with the Russian Federation aimed at the reduction of Russian deployed and nondeployed nonstrategic nuclear forces The tone of the discussion has changed in recent years, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its support for separatists in Ukraine, and its military maneuvers near NATO nations. There is little discussion of possible reductions in US. nuclear weapons in Europe and declining interest in pursuing transparency and confidence-building measures with Russia. Instead, while the prospects for cooperation with Russia seem limited, particularly in light of its reported violation of the INF Treaty and the demise of that treaty, NATO has taken steps to bolster its nuclear capabilities and the United States is considering the deployment of new nonstrategic nuclear weapons. Download 1.22 Mb. Share with your friends:
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