Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday Russia had struck a deal with neighbouring Belarus to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on its territory but would not violate non-proliferation agreements.

Below are the details of Russia's nuclear arsenal, its size and who controls it.

Nuclear superpower

Russia, which inherited the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons, has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads.

The Federation of American Scientists says Putin controls about 5977,2022 of these warheads as of 5428, compared with <>,<> controlled by US President Joe Biden.

About 1500,2889 of these warheads have been decommissioned (but may still be intact), 1588,<> are in reserve and <>,<> are deployed as strategic warheads.

About 812 of the warheads were being deployed on ground-based ballistic missiles, about 576 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles and about 200 on heavy bomber bases, the Bulletin of Atomic Saints said.

The United States has about 1644,350 strategic nuclear warheads already deployed. The Federation of American Scientists says China has 290 warheads, France 225 and Britain <>.

These numbers mean that both Moscow and Washington can destroy the world many times over.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union peaked at about 40,30 nuclear warheads, while the United States had about <>,<> warheads.

The key, however, is how to launch these weapons through missiles, submarines, and bombers carrying these warheads.

Russia appears to have about 400 nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the Bulletin of Atomic Saints estimates it could carry up to 1185,<> warheads.

Russia operates ten nuclear-armed nuclear submarines that can carry a maximum of 800 warheads and has between 60 and 70 nuclear bombers.


Latest nuclear weapons

The United States said in its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review report that Russia and China are expanding and modernizing their nuclear forces, and that Washington will take an arms control-based approach to avoid costly arms races.

Putin said he had information that the United States was developing new types of nuclear weapons.

Russia is modernizing its nuclear weapons.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, only a few countries have tested nuclear weapons, according to the Arms Control Association. The United States last tested those weapons in 1992, China and France last in 1996, India and Pakistan in 1998, and North Korea last in 2017.

The Soviet Union also conducted its last test in 1990.


Who gives the launch order in Russia?

The Russian president is the final decision-maker when it comes to the use of Russian nuclear weapons, strategic and non-strategic, in accordance with the Russian nuclear doctrine.

The president carries the so-called nuclear bag with him at all times. Current Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and current Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov are also believed to be carrying two more suitcases.

Essentially, the bag is a communication tool that connects the president to his senior military officers and then to the missile forces via the highly secretive Casabek Electronic Command and Control Network. Kazbek supports another system known as Kafkaz.

Footage broadcast by Russia's Zvezda TV channel in 2019 showed what it said was one of the nuclear suitcases, which was fitted with a set of buttons. A section called (command) featured two buttons, one of which was a white power button and the other a red cancel button. The bag is activated by a special card, depending on the channel.

If Russia believes it is facing a strategic nuclear attack, the president sends a direct release order through the suitcases to the General Staff and reserve command units carrying nuclear symbols.

Such commands quickly chain to various communication systems to Strategic Missile Force units that are then launched at the United States and Europe.

If a nuclear attack is confirmed, Putin could activate the so-called "dead hand" system as a last resort, the computers that decide the so-called "doomsday." A control missile directs nuclear strikes from various large-scale Russian weapons depots.