Russian President Vladimir Putin has put his nuclear arsenal on standby in the midst of a war with Ukraine. If it is true that there is a war with nuclear weapons, the consequences will be very dire because the technology and capabilities are far developed compared to the past.
Nuclear warhead capabilities vary, depending on their construction and design. But by today's standards, the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are nothing.
Modern nuclear bombs are much more powerful. The atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were roughly equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT and 20 kilotons of TNT. Modern nuclear bomb, 5 times more powerful.
"Many of the modern nuclear weapons in Russia and the United States are thermonuclear with an explosive power equivalent to 100 kilotons of TNT," said the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons quoted us from Deustche Welle, Wednesday (2/3/2022).
In terms of quantity, Russia has the most nuclear warheads in the world, numbering 6,225, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The United States is in second place with 5,550 nuclear warheads.
However, the US excels when it comes to ready-to-operate nuclear weapons where there are 1,800 already positioned on missiles. Meanwhile, Russia has 1,625 ready to operate. Ready to operate means that at any time it can be fired at the target once there is an order.
Other countries that have nuclear weapons include China with 359 warheads, France with around 290 warheads, and Britain with around 225 nuclear warheads.
Nuclear war itself would certainly be devastating for anyone involved. If the Kremlin in the Russian capital was bombed with 100 kiloton nuclear weapons, the death toll could reach 250,000.
"A single nuclear weapon detonated in the American capital could kill more than 170,000 people and injure nearly 400,000," said Dr Ira Helfland of The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.