Due largely but not exclusively to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of
nuclear escalation stemming from the conflict. The last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between Russia and the United States,
New START, is scheduled to expire in February 2026. Russia also brought its war to the
Chernobyl and
Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor sites, violating international protocols and risking widespread release of radioactive materials. North Korea also resumed its nuclear rhetoric, launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile test over Japan in October 2022. Continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions set up to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats such as
COVID-19 also contributed to the time setting.
[6]