This from 1987 discussion about the feasibility of a Low Threshold Ban is pure poetry

"The CTBTO’s IMS did not detect any event consistent with the characteristics of a nuclear weapon test explosion [on 22 June 2020]. Subsequent, more detailed analyses has not altered that determination" www.ctbto.org/resources/fo...

Pretty strong accusation against China on testing. Does this mean the US is now going to have a "yield producing nuclear test" (6 years later?)? Will the US release any supporting evidence?

This of course has been the position of Republican admins for a while. But also Abu Dhabi talks were clearly with Russia only. And in 2020, Trump admin gave up on this point and negotiated bilaterally

US UnderSecT DiNanno at the CD right now: bilateral arms control is impossible in 2026 because of China.

Arms control is dead, long live arms control

Pres. Trump just now "Rather than extend “NEW START” (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future".

Another bit of good news, US EUCOM says US and Russia agreed to reestablish high-level military-to-military dialogue (it seems Grynkewich and Gerasimov) www.eucom.mil/pressrelease...

Per @axios.com Russia and the US agreed to stick to New START limits for another 6 months. Probably less than what we need, but hey, it's a start

Axios reports a draft agreement has been reached in Abu Dhabi between Witkoff/Kushner and Russian officials on sticking to New START limits after treaty expiration. Still needs to be approved by Trump, but seems likely. Deus ex machina www.axios.com/2026/02/05/n...

Statement of the Ru MFA on NST. TL;DR: arms control remains important. Russia proposed voluntary ceilings, but the US did not respond. Neither side is now bound by limits 1/2 mid.ru/ru/foreign_p...

Merry Christmas, to everyone who celebrates today 🎄

US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno speaks on BWC and bio security at the UN in Geneva on his first overseas trip

Looking forward to engaging with my UNODA colleagues and members states as part of the NPT regional consultations in Addis Ababa

A House of Dynamite has been widely reviewed, but I think much of the critique misses the point. Here’s my take: unidir.org/dynamite-mak...

The US now supports ROK’s nuclear enrichment and reprocessing. Given that Washington also supports ROK nuclear submarine program, what level of enrichment are we talking about? whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/20…

Can we please not?🙄

As we are entering the period of another nuclear arms race, it is important to understand the risks that increase in nuclear arsenals bring with it. Here’s our contribution to the discussion:

Senate confirmed Thomas DiNanno to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. State Department now has its top nuclear official in place. His predecessor Bonnie Jenkins was confirmed in July of 2021

Looking forward to three days of arms control discussions at @wiltonpark.bsky.social

President Putin announced Russia will stick to New START limits for a year after the treaty expiration in 2026, and will review its policy according to the US actions after www.rbc.ru/politics/22/...

Second use of NATO article 4 in two weeks. Those used to be really rare before, this is the 8th time ever since 1949

So Vzaimodeistvie-2025 is over and as far as I can see nobody disputed Belarus statement about the nuclear component of this CSTO exercise

Christopher Yeaw has been nominated for Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Stability. His most recent government position was Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Programs at NNSA, and before that, Chief Scientist of Air Force Global Strike Command

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov told parliament on Thursday that von der Leyen's plane had not experienced "prolonged interference or jamming." It seems sometimes it’s better to be cautious about those kind of things. Yes, this is a subtweet www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

CSTO exercise in Belarus will also include planning for nuclear weapons use. Is this the first time militaries from Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan participate in an exercise with a nuclear component? www.kommersant.ru/doc/8006081

“No investigation into disruption of GPS on von der Leyen plane. 'This interference is not targeted at one or another aviation object. Such things happen daily,' says Bulgarian Premier Zhelyazkov” - well, I didn’t know such things happened daily, but ok www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/no...

Russia declares @rusi.bsky.social an undesirable organisation, making it a criminal offense for Russian citizens to "engage in the activities" of RUSI.

A weird turn of the story, but one that would answer my previous question about the physics of Russian jamming over Plovdiv airport…

So what would be the physics behind Russian "GPS jamming" over Plovdiv airport (but nowhere else around?) www.ft.com/content/3c33...

The spam is really getting better these days

So what happened with the Burevestnik test? www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Jobs with some great nuclear experts in Geneva.

Come work with me, @russianforces.org, and other great people at @unidir.org's WMD Programme as a Graduate Professional in Geneva or remotely unidir.org/job/graduate...

Обсудили с @bbcrussian.bsky.social отмену Россией моратория на развертывание РСМД youtu.be/ar5IvH4BT3s

There are a lot of horrifying photographs of the damage and human toll at Hiroshima. But it's still this one that sticks in my mind the most. Noboricho Elementary School, about 1 km from ground zero. School children were an important source of data about the bomb's mortality. 98% fatalities.

I’m kind of frustrated with the whole INF moratorium discussion, so here are my two cents without going into the whole 9m729 controversy, which we don’t have facts to independently verify one way or the other. Thread 1/6

К 80ой годовщине ядерной бомбардировки Хиросимы попал в сюжет Ильи Варламова о ядерном оружии в компании Димы Ковчегина и @russianforces.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENJs...

Russian MFA announces that Russia "no longer considers itself bound by relevant self-imposed restrictions" [on deployment of INF-range missiles], citing US development & deployment of its INF-range systems in Europe and Asia. Moratorium is officially dead mid.ru/ru/foreign_p...

Getting back to discussions about “putting nuclear weapons in space”, here’s an interesting memorandum from Special Assistant for Science and Technology to President Kennedy in 1962, which mostly holds to this day. Short🧵1/4 history.state.gov/historicaldo...

It’s hard to imagine this is happening, but here we are “U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in regions near Russia in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev” www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

Russia designated Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung @rosaluxglobal.bsky.social an "undesirable organization," making it a civil and criminal offence for Russian citizens to participate in the work of the foundation

Secretary-General Announces Members of Independent Scientific Panel on Effects of Nuclear War: 21 members, all P5 nationals are represented press.un.org/en/2025/dc39...

Поговорили об иранской ядерной программе и ущербе от израильских ударов с Марианной Беленькой на Первом радио youtu.be/JZX-GMJeIF4?...

Поговорил с русской службой BBC о ситуации вокруг ядерной программы Ирана youtu.be/Pp6n60txgPY

I’m not sure why I even need to say it, but countries should avoid major military action when they lack the resources to achieve their stated goals under reasonable real-world scenarios.

🎙️ NEW PODCAST: In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur from IISS, Dr. @bollfrass.bsky.social, @lydiawachs.bsky.social & @baklitskiy.bsky.social discuss how Russia’s nuclear arsenal has evolved from the Soviet era & what #Armscontrol means for global security today. 🎧 Listen : tinyurl.com/59bkpxsf

I discussed Soviet and Russian nuclear weapons with Alex Bollfrass on the Arms Control Poseur podcast. Give it a listen! www.iiss.org/podcasts/arm...

President Putin says that the US and Russia will have to deal with the "extension" of the New START, which will end in a year. Quite a change of mood in Moscow tass.ru/politika/231...

President Trump would have no problems getting an arms control treaty through the Senate. Again, not that it’s very likely. But it is certainly possible