This Is How Nuclear War Starts — And It’s Already Happening

On January 27, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set its “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has been to nuclear annihilation since 1946.

The New START Treaty, the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, expired on February 5 without a replacement. This allows both countries, holding 86 percent of the world’s 12,321 nuclear weapons, to exceed limits on their arsenals, raising the risk of escalating nuclear capabilities and threatening global safety.

The nuclear arms race has escalated, with nine powers—Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea—upgrading and developing weapons. China is expanding its arsenal the fastest, and expert Hans Kristensen warns that “the era of reductions in global nuclear weapons is coming to an end.”

A troubling trend is emerging with the expansion of nuclear arsenals and weakening arms control agreements. The U.S. is investing $1.7 trillion in nuclear modernization, backed by President Trump, who announced a new nuclear force in February 2018 and instructed the Pentagon in October 2025 to prepare for the first nuclear weapons testing in 33 years.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, signed in 1996 by 187 nations, including the United States, has largely prevented explosive nuclear testing, except for North Korea, for over 25 years. However, recent events have led to a resurgence of nuclear threats, reversing the post-Cold War trend

Notable leaders like Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, and Vladimir Putin have made public threats, with Russia issuing 135 threats between February 2022 and December 2024, during its invasion of Ukraine. Some national security experts see Russia’s threats as manipulative.

In November 2022, Chinese leader Xi Jinping criticized Putin’s nuclear threats regarding Ukraine. These rising tensions are harming international cooperation and the U.N. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warns that countries like Russia, China, and the U.S. are growing aggressive and ignoring warnings of potential catastrophe.

Global agreements are collapsing, leading to fierce competition among major powers and undermining international cooperation to reduce nuclear risks. This situation echoes the latter half of the twentieth century, when conflicts triggered a dangerous nuclear arms race that nearly escalated into war, prompting a grassroots campaign against nuclear annihilation.

The campaign didn’t fully ban nuclear weapons, but reduced their numbers by over 80 percent and slowed the arms race. In the early twenty-first century, the remnants of the disarmament movement formed the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, organizing anti-nuclear conferences with support from progressive leaders in smaller nations through the United Nations.

Public pressure for nuclear disarmament and a treaty to ban nuclear weapons is crucial for a non-nuclear future. The devastating effects of nuclear war can kill millions and cause immense suffering, making any “victory” meaningless. As Nikita Khrushchev said, “the survivors would envy the dead.” Sadly, some leaders ignore this reality and flout international law.

Lunatics undeniably exist, and it is deeply troubling that some of them hold positions of power in modern nations, flouting international law with impunity. Our world deserves better than to be led by those who act without conscience. 

James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Luke 21:9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and diseases; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.