Russia has a "strong incentive" to use more destructive nuclear weapons as Western militaries build up their missile arsenals and improve their air defenses, according to a new report.

"Russian nuclear strategy appears to be at an inflection point," said an analysis published on Tuesday by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defense think tank.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The U.S. provides the vast majority of NATO's nuclear deterrent. Together, Russia and the U.S. have a grip on about 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons.

Nuclear rhetoric and threats have limned the almost three and a half years of full-scale war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrence force

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