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Kursk oblast

President Vladimir Putin talks with the governor of Kursk on the situation regarding the Ukrainian invasion of the south of the oblast. Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The new red line: Why a prolonged conflict in Ukraine makes a nuclear attack more likely

By Phillips P. O’Brien | Analysis, Nuclear Risk

A damaged statue of the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, in the Ukrainian-controlled Russian town of Sudzha, Kursk region, on August 16. (Photo by Yan DOBRONOSOV/AFP via Getty Images)

The Battle of Kursk probably won’t result in nuclear weapons use against Ukraine. But Russian escalation vis-à-vis NATO can’t be ruled out.

By Nikolai N. Sokov | Nuclear Risk, Nuclear Weapons

Watch the 2025 Doomsday Clock announcement on January 28