Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons
& Russia’s War on Ukraine

Speakers and panelists from this May 3, 2022 event included:

• Ariana N. Smith (Executive Director, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy)

• Zia Mian (Co-director, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University)

• John Burroughs (Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy), text of remarks

• Daryl Kimball (Executive Director, Arms Control Association)

• Amb. Alexander Kmentt (Director of Disarmament, Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

• Alicia Sanders-Zakre (Policy and Research Coordinator, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons)
  

  Sponsored by Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, Arms Control Association, and the Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security

Prior to and during Russia’s war against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has threatened the possible use of nuclear weapons should other states “interfere” in Russian military operations.

Such threats of the use of force are the cornerstone of nuclear deterrence but, especially where states hold the option to use nuclear weapons first in a conflict, open the door to escalation and the actual use of nuclear weapons.

How can the international community meet the urgent challenges from the threat of use of nuclear weapons?