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Nuclear weapons

Nuclear bombs are one of the deadliest weapons of mass destruction. To date, the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict occurred in 1945 when the United States dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

A Bundeswehr patch and a patch of the Russian flag, overlayed with a set of earpieces

Russian propaganda makes the most of German army call leak

Russian propaganda makes the most of German army call leak

Russia plays the victim card after a conversation about the war in Ukraine between German officers was leaked.
ConflictsMarch 6, 2024
A decommissioned Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile sits in an underground silo

Germany and nuclear weapons: A difficult history

Germany and nuclear weapons: A difficult history

Donald Trump's remarks on NATO's principle of collective defense have triggered a debate in Germany on nuclear options.
PoliticsFebruary 17, 2024
A float depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump holding a damaged American flag and scissors in his hand.

Trump prompts EU to consider nuclear deterrence without US

Trump prompts EU to consider nuclear deterrence without US

Trump has EU politicians talking about nuclear deterrence without the United States. A risky, hasty debate, some warn.
PoliticsFebruary 15, 2024
Hand seen moving the minutes hand on the Doomsday Clock

What does the Doomsday Clock tell us about the future?

What does the Doomsday Clock tell us about the future?

Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight for the second year in a row.
ScienceJanuary 23, 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae sit at a long table, against a blue and white background. Both are dressed in white

Is Kim Jong Un grooming his daughter to rule North Korea?

Is Kim Jong Un grooming his daughter to rule North Korea?

It once seemed unimaginable, but there is growing evidence Kim Ju Ae could be North Korea's next leader.
PoliticsDecember 29, 2023
Horchposten, Projekt Zukunft

Monitoring covert weapons tests – the nuclear detectives

Monitoring covert weapons tests – the nuclear detectives

A monitoring system with measuring stations worldwide is capable of detecting above-ground or underground nuclear tests.
ScienceDecember 13, 202305:29 min
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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

Massive ballistic missiles on a line of dark green military vehicles at a Russian military parade, red buildings in the background

Is Russia preparing to conduct nuclear tests?

Parliamentarians in Russia have voted to revoke its ratification of the global nuclear test ban treaty.
ConflictsOctober 17, 2023
a beach illuminated by a mushroom cloud resulting from a nuclear explosion

Germany walks fine line on nuclear weapons

The war in Ukraine and undoing of Cold War-era arms control, means Germany's nuclear balancing act is under pressure.
PoliticsMarch 24, 2023
US President George Bush (l) and Russian President Boris Yeltsin smiling at each other and raising their glasses

What's left of Russia -US nuclear arms control?

With a war raging in Ukraine, 30 years after the START II treaty, all hopes for disarmament seem to have been shattered.
PoliticsJanuary 2, 2023
Kim Jong-un visits a factory in 2015

Despite UN sanctions, Germany did research with North Korea

Scientific collaboration with North Korea has been banned since 2016. DW found one Berlin institute where it continued.
PoliticsNovember 28, 2022
Russian letters in string lights

What would happen if a nuclear bomb was used in Ukraine?

Historic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Fukushima, are only a rough guide to fallout from nuclear war.
ScienceNovember 14, 2022