A nivel global, el mundo experiment\u00f3 un renovado inter\u00e9s en las armas nucleares a medida que los pa\u00edses buscaban formas de garantizar su seguridad en el contexto de crecientes tensiones globales.\u00a0Temiendo que \u201cUcrania hoy pueda ser Asia ma\u00f1ana\u201d. Los expertos expresaron su preocupaci\u00f3n de que los pa\u00edses con armas nucleares sigan proliferando sus tecnolog\u00edas y materiales nucleares en Medio Oriente y mas all\u00e1.<\/p>\n
As we wrap up the year, one event\u2014or rather a non-event\u2014stands out: Russia has not used nuclear weapons in Ukraine. This is not a trivial outcome. One year ago, concerns among experts and officials over this possible scenario was at their highest, with repeated, thinly veiled threats to use them and Russia\u2019s new policy to\u00a0deploy<\/a>\u00a0nuclear weapons in Belarus. Prospects were so grim that UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0highlighted<\/a>\u00a0these nuclear concerns in opening his annual remarks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.<\/p>\n That Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to use nuclear weapons can be subject to different interpretations. His decision may have been based on moral concerns, fear of international backlash, or fear of uncontrollable escalation. But the decision could well also be the result of a sudden realization that nuclear weapons, practically speaking, have\u00a0no military value<\/a>\u00a0on the battlefield.<\/p>\n Nearly two years into the war, however, the risk of nuclear weapon use in Ukraine cannot been dismissed completely: Russia continues to consider part of Ukraine as its own territory, and Russia\u2019s nuclear doctrine states that it may use nuclear weapons to defend its territory. No one can know how the Kremlin would react should Ukraine make any breakthrough in these territories after the winter is over or if Russia\u2019s\u00a0economy of war<\/a>\u00a0starts to crack. And one fact is obvious: Both countries consider this war to be existential and have no intention of stopping the fight.<\/p>\n On the frontline, the situation at the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant\u2014Europe\u2019s largest\u2014remained critical. The embattled plant\u2019s site continued to\u00a0endure<\/a>\u00a0fire, structural damage, temporary losses of external power, and operator stress. Russia allegedly\u00a0destroyed<\/a>\u00a0the Kakhovka dam, the plant\u2019s cooling reservoir and a major source of water for drinking and irrigation, and experts feared for\u00a0intentional sabotage<\/a>\u00a0on the plant itself. Meanwhile, analysts still had difficulty articulating clear protection measures against military attacks on nuclear reactors.<\/p>\n Globally, the world experienced renewed interests in nuclear weapons as countries looked for ways to ensure their security in the context of rising global tensions. Fearing that \u201cUkraine today may be Asia tomorrow,\u201d some leaders in South Korea and Japan\u00a0pressed<\/a>\u00a0the United States to reinforce its extended deterrence to Seoul and Tokyo. Pakistan continues to gradually\u00a0expand<\/a>\u00a0its nuclear arsenal with more warheads, more delivery systems, and a growing fissile material production industry. And experts voiced concerns that nuclear-armed countries continue proliferating their nuclear technologies and materials in the\u00a0Middle East<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0beyond<\/a>. In the United States, a congressional commission has called for adding\u00a0new nuclear capabilities<\/a>\u00a0to counter China\u2019s growing nuclear arsenal\u2014a strategy critics consider ineffective and potentially leading to a nuclear arms race.<\/p>\n On the diplomatic front, two major arms control treaties were all but scrapped this year, with Russia\u00a0suspending<\/a>\u00a0its participation in New START (the US-Russian treaty that limits their deployed long-range nuclear forces) and revoking its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).<\/p>\n Despite these setbacks, the nuclear arms control and disarmament community has continued to\u00a0confront<\/a>\u00a0nuclear proliferation and\u00a0press<\/a>\u00a0the United States to engage in concrete nuclear arms control negotiations with China.<\/p>\n