The United States and Russia seem to be backing away from nuclear security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative found in a new report.
The 2026 NTI Nuclear Security Index said nuclear security conditions in the U.S. and in Russia appear to be deteriorating, a trend NTI finds concerning as the two countries hold the most responsibility for the global nuclear security as custodians of the majority of the world’s weapons-usable nuclear materials.
“The data point to a historic lapse in nuclear security leadership in these countries at a moment when nuclear dangers are rising,” Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) President and CEO Christine E. Wormuth said.
The NTI Index, developed with Economist Enterprise, found that Russia’s suspension of crucial international cooperation and production of weapons-usable materials are the biggest drivers of its declining score. The U.S. has also suspended international cooperation, NTI found, but the biggest driver for America’s reduced score is the erosion of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s independence.
The NTI Index also noted that the stockpiles of plutonium are growing in several countries, including France, India and Russia. The increase, the agency said, was being driven by spent fuel reprocessing operations that rapidly accumulate this weapons-usable material and create unnecessary risks for global nuclear security. The agency also found that weapons-usable highly enriched uranium quantities are on the rise in Belgium, Germany, India, Iran, Pakistan and Russia, even as the global total shrinks, and that most countries with weapons-usable nuclear material and nuclear facilities have not made much progress in adopting nuclear security practices, and continue to rely on insufficient personnel-related security measures and cybersecurity requirements.
The NTI Index found that 12 countries – Australia, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Senegal, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom— have stepped forward as a force for global nuclear security progress by “sustaining domestic improvements, supporting other governments, and deepening engagement with international institutions.”
“Their example affirms that all governments can—and must—contribute to strengthening global nuclear security,” Wormuth said. “When governments choose to engage, the international frameworks underpinning nuclear security can still work.”
NTI recommended that the U.S. and Russia should urgently reverse the decline in their nuclear security conditions, and that the U.S. should reclaim its role as a global nuclear security leader.