Siegfried Hecker confirmed that the danger that exists today is not a single event

American expert: Ukraine war has shaken the pillars of the global nuclear system

Sigerfried Hecker. Archival

In an interview with Der Spiegel, the former director of the Los Alamos Center for Nuclear Research, Siegfried Hecker, explained how Russia's war against Ukraine has already destroyed the realities that for decades have forbidden the use of weapons of mass destruction. The nuclear scientist is an important figure in the U.S. nuclear program. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Since the attack on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons and suspended the last remaining disarmament treaty with the United States. These developments are considered more serious.

-- Putin's threats appear to be aimed primarily at dissuading the West. However, because it is nuclear, it must be taken seriously. But the far greater danger is the combination of all these developments. This has already begun with an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Of course, we all look at the enormous human toll and suffering suffered by the Ukrainian people. I certainly share this view, especially because I was born near the Polish-Ukrainian border. But what worries me most after the Ukraine war is its impact on the nuclear world order. I fear that Putin has destroyed this system.

■ Why?

-- The nuclear system in the past decades has been based on several pillars. The most important is what some call nuclear taboos. Since 1945, when these brand new weapons were first developed and then used, no nuclear weapon has been used in warfare. And that's amazing. It did not happen by accident. It is the result of a system that has evolved over decades. Many countries, including the United States and the former Soviet Union, wanted to make sure that nuclear weapons were never used.

In what way does the Russian attack against Ukraine jeopardize the pillars of the nuclear regime?

-- Well, it unveils the foundations of trust that have allowed us to live with nuclear dangers. It threatens the peaceful expansion of nuclear energy, and it threatens the consensus that has prevented the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism.

I was born in 1943, six months after the Manhattan Project founded America's first nuclear program. So, your life spans literally almost the entire atomic age. Are you saying that we are at the most dangerous juncture of this age today?

-- I think the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, as well as some other incidents when the United States and the Soviet Union came close to a possible use of nuclear weapons, were probably more serious in themselves. But the danger that exists today is not a single event. It is the end of the nuclear system itself. So, everything is at stake.

How do you explain the change in China's nuclear policy?

-- China has had a highly sensitive nuclear doctrine for two decades. A few hundred warheads were sufficient to provide the necessary deterrence. Instead, China has focused on building its economy and has become the economic power it is today. This was a smart decision. There is a huge responsibility associated with nuclear weapons and there is a huge financial expenditure. Therefore, the Chinese were advising Geidea not to go in this direction in the first place. Meanwhile, their economy grew; Uncertainty has convinced them that they now need a larger nuclear arsenal.

China has focused on building its economy and has become the economic power it is today, and this was a smart decision.

In the past decades, the nuclear system was based on several pillars, the most important of which are what some call nuclear taboos. Since 1945 when these brand new weapons were first developed and then used, no nuclear weapon has been used in warfare.