British Pugwash is an advocate for NATO adopting a No First Use (NFU) nuclear policy. A public opinion poll we conducted earlier this year found that 48 percent of UK adults oppose the first use of nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom, and only 40 percent support first use. This finding builds on the results […]
In our last note on this subject (27 June) we drew attention to the fact that President Putin had publicly rejected calls from some Russian figures to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but appeared still to be playing with the idea that threats to Russia’s territorial integrity could justify the use of such weapons – a lower threshold […]
On May 23 the Physics Department at Oxford University hosted two British Pugwash Executive Committee members (Dr David Ellwood and Dr Peter Collecott) who spoke on the subject of ‘Nuclear risk: and how we can work to reduce it’. Event description 90 years ago, while waiting to cross the road at Russell Square, the refugee […]
On April 27 the Canadian Pugwash Group (CPG) hosted an expert speaker event entitled “Peace Table for Ukraine and Russia”. The event was motivated by the CPG’s deep concerns about the continuing deaths and destruction occurring as a result of the Ukraine crisis and, most critically, by the heightened risk of the use of nuclear […]
Asked (on 16 June at a conference in St Petersburg) how he felt about the case for using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine which some Russian military “experts” have been making of late, President Putin replied: “My feelings are negative. This use of nuclear weapons is certainly theoretically possible. For Russia, this is possible if a […]
In January 2023 British Pugwash and polling company Savanta conducted a survey of UK public opinion concerning nuclear weapons issues. The poll aimed to understand the views of the British public in this area and assess potential support for policies that advance nuclear arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. The poll asked UK adults seven questions […]
