Trump's submarine threat: Russia, US possess most nuclear arms in the world. Who has what at a glance
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump's submarine threat: Russia, US possess most nuclear arms in the world. Who has what at a glance")
US President Donald Trump having a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Photograph: (Reuters)
Since the end of the Cold War, nuclear capable countries like the US, Russia and France have taken measures to dismantle old warheads, resulting in a decrease in the overall number.
United States President Donald Trump said Friday (Aug 1) he's ordering the repositioning of two nuclear submarines "to appropriate regions" in response to "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Trump, for the last few days has been locked in a war of words with Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council. Medvedev recently threatened the US in response to Trump's warning to Moscow to halt the war with Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire.
“Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!,” Trump added.
Soon after the remarks were made by Trump, Viktor Vodolatsky, a senior Russian lawmaker replied by saying, "The number of Russian nuclear submarines in the world's oceans is significantly higher than the American ones, and the subs that US President Donald Trump ordered to be redirected to the appropriate regions have long been under their control. So no response from the Russian Federation to the American leader's statement about the submarines is required."
Russia, US nuclear power and warheads
The situation raises fears of clashes between two of the most high profile nuclear armed countries. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), United States and Russia account for around 90 percent of the world's stockpile.
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Together they poses roughly 12,331 nuclear warheads, with over 9,600 in active military stockpiles, according to the Federation of Atomic Scientists' 2025 Status of the Worlds Nuclear Forces.
And among both the countries, Russia has over 5,500 nuclear warheads, most confirmed nuclear weapons. While US is second in the list with 5,044 nuclear weapons. Notably, some of the nuclear warheads of the US are positioned in 5 other nations: Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
In total there are nine countries; China, France, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel that poses nuclear weapons. However, the total number of warheads for North Korea and Israel is unconfirmed.
Since the end of the Cold War, nuclear capable countries like the US, Russia and France have taken measures to dismantle old warheads, resulting in a decrease in the overall number.
During the Cold War, both US and Russia had approximately 70,000 warheads which has now declined to 12,331 nuclear arsenals.
