Senior Policy Director John Erath spoke with Newsweek about Russian assertions that Russia is ahead in the “nuclear domain”.
John Erath, the senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Newsweek that Patrushev’s boastfulness is akin to “that kid on the playground who always had to believe he or she had it better than everyone else.”
While growth in Russia’s nuclear inventory and its modernization continues, Erath said, that fact is irrelevant because deterrence would be possible and effective even with fewer weapons. Also, he said the totality of the stockpile “hasn’t helped much in its war of aggression.”
“There is an obvious danger from equating security with larger numbers of nuclear weapons, but less often considered is the degree to which Russia is increasingly relying on its nuclear forces to maintain its self-perceptions as a great power, especially with the degradation of its conventional forces,” he said.
Erath went on: “Patrushev and his boss want to remind everyone that Russia is still the baddest kid on the block, and at the same time raise Western fears of nuclear escalation if the Ukraine war doesn’t end with Russian victory—or some semblance thereof.” Read more
