The number of operational nuclear warheads in the world increased in 2022, driven largely by Russia and China, according to a new report released Wednesday.
At the beginning of 2023, the nine official and unofficial nuclear powers held 9,576 ready-to-use nuclear warheads — up from 9,440 the year prior — which have a “collective destructive power” equal to “more than 135,000 Hiroshima bombs,” according to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor published by the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid.