Nuclear Threats and the War in Ukraine

In the fourth episode of the series, a group of experts from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, and King’s College London discuss the prospects of Russia using biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. The experts also discuss how various misinformation campaigns weaken the nonproliferation regime and current international treaties.

In the third episode of the Nuclear Threats and the War in Ukraine, Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London, and Ms. Sarah Bidgood, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), present a pessimistic view on the future of arms control. The discussion is moderated by CNS founder and director Dr. William Potter. Ms. Bidgood wrote a recent article in Foreign Policy about the real possibility of a new nuclear arms race. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/15/nuclear-arms-control-race-russia-ukraine-america/

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has set in motion a catastrophic war. The consequences of this war will be both tragic and far-reaching, including concerning nuclear nonproliferation and risk reduction.  Consistent with the CNS mission of promoting nonproliferation education and analysis, the Center offers a series of webinars about the nuclear challenges and risks that have arisen as a result of this unfolding crisis. The series focuses on questions such as  

• How is the war affecting the safety and security of Ukraine’s civil nuclear energy infrastructure? 
• What is the risk that nuclear weapons could be used in the context of the war in Ukraine? 
• What is the likely impact of the war on the international nonproliferation regime and national decisions to forego nuclear weapons?  

In a fast-changing landscape with countless unknowns, this series aims to provide timely information about these critical issues and a forum for constructive dialogue.  

In the second podcast in the Nuclear Threats and the War in Ukraine, Dr. Nikolai Sokov, Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, and Dr. Ulrich Kühn, Director of the Arms Control and Emerging Technologies Program, IFSH Hamburg, discuss the risk of use of nuclear weapons in the context of the war in Ukraine. The experts also address the impact of the war on the international nonproliferation regime and national decisions to forego nuclear weapons. Dr. Hanna Notte, Senior Research Associate at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, moderates the discussion.

In the first webinar in the Nuclear Threats and the War in Ukraine series, Ms. Kateryna Pavlova, Head of International Department and Public Relations, State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, analyzes how the war is affecting the safety and security of Ukraine’s civil nuclear energy infrastructure.

Dr. William Potter, Founder Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey, moderates the discussion. In a fast-changing landscape with countless unknowns, this series aims to provide timely information about these critical issues and a forum for constructive dialogue.