Russia looks to update nuclear program amid ‘colossal threats’ from West

Russia’s top nuclear official this week said Moscow is facing “colossal threats” and needs to update its nuclear capabilities.

Without directly naming where Russia’s chief nuclear threat is coming from, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev said, “the current geopolitical situation, is a time of colossal threats to the existence of our country.”

“Therefore, the nuclear shield, which is also a sword, is a guarantee of our sovereignty,” he added, according to Russian state news agency RIA. “We understand today that the nuclear shield must only be improved in the coming years.”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Director General of the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on May 19, 2022.  (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

The comments came less than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump convened for a face-to-face meeting that marked the first time a U.S. leader has met with the Kremlin chief since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

While Trump and Putin appeared positive following the talks, little seemed to have been concretely accomplished in the meeting and hope surrounding a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire appeared to decline as the week progressed. 

It is unclear why Likhachev issued comments regarding Russia’s nuclear program at this time, and he did not detail what sort of updates he would be looking to make to Moscow’s “shield” program. 

Trump issued similar comments earlier this year when in May he announced his plans to develop the “Golden Dome” missile defense system — inspired by Israel’s “Iron Dome” defense system — and which is expected to cost at least $175 billion.

Though security experts have been sounding the alarm when it comes to China’s escalating nuclear development, together Russia and the U.S. continue to possess 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal.

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Image shows data from Federation of American Scientists indicating that there are 12,331 nuclear weapons as of 2025.  (FederaGraphic by Visual Capitalist via Getty Images)

Moscow continues to hold nearly 4,400 nuclear warheads, over 1,500 of which are “strategically deployed” while the U.S. possesses more than 3,700 warheads in its stockpiles with 1,400 deployed, according to the Arms Control Association. 

While nuclear disarmament was the standing international goal following the end of the Cold War, the trajectory of this policy remains dubious as relations between Washington and Moscow have once again turned precarious amid Putin’s war in Ukraine, and his burgeoning relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The New Start Treaty remains the only bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, and though it was extended in 2021, it is set to expire in February 2026. The future of the treaty – first signed in 2010 – also remains unclear as Moscow paused its participation in the agreement in 2023.

Russian military vehicles, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, roll on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024.   (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

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Putin said that this suspension meant he would continue to abide by stockpile limits under the treaty, but he would not allow for continued U.S. inspections. 

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for comment as nations increasingly look to expand their nuclear capabilities just six months ahead of when the New Start Treaty is set to expire.