Trump, Putin call for strengthening nuclear capabilities

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning that "the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." Nine countries in the world possess 15,375 nuclear weapons, with the United States and Russia accounting for 93 percent of them, the anti-war grant-making foundation Ploughshares Fund reports.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday also called for his country to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.