Voice of America News, MOSCOW, Russia: It's been almost 15 years since the United States launched its program to help secure the world's largest nuclear stockpile — in Russia. But analysts warn that the efforts on improving the security have been going at a terribly slow pace. They say the issue of securing the Russian nuclear arsenals is starting to fade from the two countries' agenda, leaving more than half of the Russian nuclear arsenal vulnerable to possible terrorist attacks.
Experts agree that one of the most serious security threats in the world today is a terrorist detonating a nuclear device in a large city. Modern Russia possesses about 16,000 nuclear warheads and 600 tons of nuclear material and is believed to be the likeliest source of material for such a device.
And it takes only a small amount of that material to put together a so-called “dirty bomb.” At least several dozen cases of suspected smuggling of nuclear and radiological materials were reported in Russia over the last several years — despite all the international efforts to secure Russian nuclear arsenal.
Robert Berls, Senior Advisor for Russia Programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative says only a part of Russian nukes have been secured.
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