More nuclear weapons do not necessarily mean greater security, and a trade-off between next-generation conventional and nuclear weapons is almost inevitable unless defense budgets are completely open-ended.
Former Kremlin advisor Sergei Karaganov recently called for Russia to launch limited nuclear strikes to bring the war in Ukraine to a favorable conclusion. Even if Karaganov’s ideas are only Russian disinformation, their publication illustrates a need for Moscow, Washington, and Brussels to plan for a de-escalation of hostilities that does not include nuclear weapons.