Russia’s nuclear arsenal includes a stockpile of approximately 4,489 warheads with 1,674 strategic warheads deployed on ballistic missiles and at heavy bomber bases, while an approximate additional 999 strategic warheads along with 1,816 nonstrategicwarheads are held in reserve. The Russian arsenal continues its broad modernization intended to replace most Soviet-era weapons by the late-2020s.
The intelligence world is closely watching a remote island near Taiwan where China is preparing to produce weapons-grade plutonium from Russian nuclear fuel.
In late January, the State Department informed Congress that Russia was not complying with the START III treaty, the only nuclear arms control treaty remaining in force between the two nations. Russia, according to the State Department had refused to allow American inspectors into nuclear weapons facilities, an obligation under the treaty which will expire in 2026.