Although the overall Russian and U.S. nuclear warhead inventories declined in 2021(due to the dismantling of old warheads), the number of usable warheads remain stable. Together they still possess 90% of all nuclear weapons.

The total global inventory of nuclear weapons was estimated to be at 12,705 warheads at the start of 2022, about 9440 were in military stockpiles for potential use. Of those, an estimated 3732 warheads were deployed on missiles and aircraft, and around 2000—nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA—were kept in a state of high operational alert.

In 2021, the permanent members (P5) of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA issued a joint statement affirming that ‘nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought' and reaffirmed to comply with the non-proliferation treaty of 1968.

Despite the assurances from the P5, all its members continue to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals. Russia has even made open threats about possible nuclear weapon use in the context of the war in Ukraine.

According to Dan Smith, Director of SIPRI, "Although there were some significant gains in both nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament in the past year, the risk of nuclear weapons being used seems higher now than at any time since the height of the cold war."