Oliver Meier
@olivermeier.bsky.social
Head of Programme on Nuclear and Multilateral Disarmament at the European Leadership Network @theeln.bsky.social, based in Berlin. WMD elimination through arms control, disarmament, nonproliferation. Personal views only.
My non-fiction debut "We Shall Outlast Them: Putin's Global Campaign to Defeat the West" is out today. It's the result of years of research, travel to a dozen countries, and countless conversations. Thank you @wwnorton.com and everyone who supported me along the way. wwnorton.com/books/978132...
#ICYMI Check out Rose Gottemoeller and Women Leaders podcast host Ilana Bet-El's conversation on "MAD theory" from our most recent Women Leaders podcast episode ⤵️ europeanleadershipnetwork.org/multimedia/t...
Thrilled to finally share the great news that Sharon Weinberger is joining the @thebulletin.org as our next Editor-in-Chief! thebulletin.org/2026/08/the-...
The Bulletin welcomes Sharon Weinberger as editor-in-chief
The Bulletin’s new editor-in-chief, Sharon Weinberger, has dedicated her career to covering the intersection of science, technology, and national security and will guide the Bulletin’s editorial effor...
thebulletin.org
Rather than dropping hints about nuclear weapons build-up in TV documentaries and invent word games about weapons of mass destruction as "trump cards", China should act responsibly by providing real transparency about the goals behind its nuclear weapons programme. www.scmp.com/news/china/m...
China signals buildout of nuclear missile silos for ‘strategic trump cards’
CCTV documentary interview suggests the construction was for the DF-5 series of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
scmp.com
"The General Staff highlighted that the Engels airfield is a primary base for Russian strategic aviation, housing Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers regularly used to launch missile attacks against Ukrainian territory." www.kyivpost.com/post/81568
Ukraine Confirms Striking Russian Strategic Bomber Base in Engels
The Ukrainian military confirmed overnight strikes on the Engels bomber base, while long-range drones hit a refinery in Bashkortostan 1,700 km (1,056 miles) away.
kyivpost.com
Google pauses AI satellite images, after fears of deepfakes in the sky www.npr.org/2026/07/31/n...
Google pauses AI satellite images, after fears of deepfakes in the sky
Journalists, human rights advocates and open source analysts recoiled in horror at the initial decision: "The opportunities for abuse and disinfo are literally boundless," said one.
npr.org
1/2 Interesting: in response to Parliamentary questions from far-right #noAfD on use of #AI in arms control, German government states that it is "currently" not using AI or machine learning tools "directly or indirectly" for arms control or export control purposes. www.bundestag.de/presse/hib/k...
KI bislang nicht in Rüstungskontrolle ei
Berlin: (hib/SCR) Die Bundesregierung hat bislang keine Systeme künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) oder Verfahren maschinellen Lernens direkt oder indirekt in der Rüstungs- oder Exportkontrolle...
bundestag.de
"Arctic states should close governance gap between climate change, geopolitical competition, nuclear risks through an Arctic risk-reduction dialogue." Great piece by @theeln.bsky.social colleague @nikitagryazin.bsky.social and @irenmarinova.bsky.social in @thebulletin.org: thebulletin.org?p=132932
Climate change exacerbates nuclear risks in the Arctic. And we are not ready
Climate change is physically altering the operational environment of nuclear deterrence in the Arctic, but the institutions capable of managing these risks are fragmented and frozen in place.
thebulletin.org
#ChemicalWeapons #OPCW Sabrina Dallafior begins term as new Director-General of the OPCW www.opcw.org/media-centre... Sabrina Dallafior today assumed office as Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), becoming the ...
Sabrina Dallafior begins term as new Director-General of the OPCW
Director-General Dallafior sets out early priorities to uphold the Chemical Weapons Convention and deliver the OPCW’s work worldwide
opcw.org
True, @economist.com: "Should nuclear war begin, powers size of France (or Britain), know there is good chance they won't survive." Not true: Should nuclear war begin, powers with more nuclear weapons than France or UK have chance of survival. #nuclearwarcantbewon www.economist.com/internationa...
Can French nukes protect Europe if Donald Trump walks away?
Europeans are keen on nuclear collaboration with Emmanuel Macron. What if Marine Le Pen becomes president?
economist.com
📢 Last chance! Do not miss the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to join our training course on Disarmament and non-proliferation of #WMD! Offered by the #OPCW, these scholarships cover the tuition fee. ❗ Deadline: 1 August 2026 🔗 Read more about the scholarships: lnkd.in/eU5nAR7T
This Is Fine Dog Meme in Burning House
ALT: This Is Fine Dog Meme in Burning House
static.klipy.com
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)@swp-berlin.org · last wk.Die Überprüfungskonferenz des Nuklearen Nichtverbreitungsvertrags NPT ist 2026 zum dritten Mal in Folge gescheitert. Das ist aber noch kein Todesurteil für die globale Nuklearordnung, so @liviuhorovitz.bsky.social & Jonas Schneider @swp-intsecurity.bsky.social. www.swp-berlin.org/publikation/...
The next nuclear crisis could unfold in an AI-enabled world. Are safeguards ready? @nikitagryazin.bsky.social argues that the recent Rome Declaration must become a catalyst for practical action to reduce nuclear risks before tech outpaces governance. europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/b...
Beyond the Rome Declaration: Adapting nuclear risk reduction for the AI era
AI is transforming the nuclear risk landscape faster than governance can adapt. ELN Policy Fellow Nikita Gryazin argues that the recently signed Rome Declaration should mark the beginning, not the end...
europeanleadershipnetwork.org
Flashbacks of the first Trump term and on a positive note: Chaos in the Trump administration seems to have reached a point where it can't even get its disruptive policies implemented.
James Cameron@jjjcameron.bsky.social · 2w agoHow the US-Saudi nuclear pact came unstuck: basically Trump saw some criticism on Fox that he didn't like and decided to attach normalization of relations with Israel as a condition.
Oh boy. I wonder what the Saudis have to say about all that. But it should give members of Congress a set of interesting questions to ask. 🍿
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 2w agoTrump on Saudi Nuke deal:
The US pulverizing nonproliferation norms for future economic gains is bad. But the Saudi deal is not the first time Washington puts money before security. 20 years ago, the US pressed successfully to exempt India from Nuclear Suppliers Group rules. The damage has been done, money yet to come in.
Rubio all-but-admits he was entirely in the dark about the US-Saudi nuclear agreement - hard to read this response any differently. www.state.gov/releases/off...
Months after President Macron pitched a European "forward deterrence" concept, uneven bilateral terms and strict French nuclear autonomy threaten to leave non-nuclear allies with little say. France's European partners need to coordinate among themselves, writes Oliver Meier @olivermeier.bsky.social.
Forward deterrence: What's (not) in it for France's partners
Four months after President Macron pitched a European "forward deterrence" concept, uneven bilateral terms and strict French nuclear autonomy threaten to leave non-nuclear allies with little say. To…
thebulletin.org
I wrote a piece for @thebulletin.org arguing that France's new non-nuclear partners should engage on #forwarddeterrence collectively, to pursue their own interests vis-à-vis Paris more effectively and increase ownership and inclusiveness of the French initiative: thebulletin.org/2026/07/forw...
Forward deterrence: What's (not) in it for France's partners
Four months after President Macron pitched a European "forward deterrence" concept, uneven bilateral terms and strict French nuclear autonomy threaten to leave non-nuclear allies with little say. To p...
thebulletin.org
Rationalize this: Opening the doors to nuclear proliferation on one side of the Gulf, while justifying war as a counterproliferation measure on the other side of the Gulf. 🤷♂️ (And you can't use the "democracy vs. autocracy" line in this case.)
CNN@cnn.com · 3w agoThe Trump administration has tentatively agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without enacting international safeguards intended to prevent nuclear weapons development, according to sources familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by CNN. https://cnn.it/4fhCFWc
Axel Springer is a German media giant — with Bild & Welt — which has become a major international player — with Politico & Business Insider. Its leadership is a prime example of radicalization of the mainstream right and of the enabling of the far right. Their newest award winner: Peter Thiel.
Peter Thiel erhält den Axel Springer Award 2026
Auszeichnung für einen Unternehmer, Investor und Vordenker, der die digitale Transformation maßgeblich geprägt hat
axelspringer.com
In a future nuclear crisis, the speed of AI may leave literally zero room for human judgment. John Mecklin (@meckdevil.bsky.social) and I just published our latest dispatch from Rome for @thebulletin.org, covering a historic warning from some of the world's top minds. 👇 1/6 🧵
Today in 1945 at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory—one day after the TRINITY test—Chief Physicist Leo Szilard signed and circulated a petition to President Truman urging him to weigh all the “moral responsibilities” before deciding whether to use atomic bombs to attack Japan.
‘Hunted’ by drones: UN reports worst month for Ukraine’s civilians since 2022 news.un.org/en/story/202... #Ukraine #Russia #Putinswar
‘Hunted’ by drones: UN reports worst month for Ukraine’s civilians since 2022
Civilian casualties in Ukraine soared during the first half of 2026 amid escalating Russian attacks and intensifying use of deadly weapons, the UN human rights monitoring mission in the country, HRMMU...
news.un.org
Today in 1958 at Bikini Atoll (local time), as part of Operation Hardtack I, the United States conducted POPLAR, a 9.3-Megaton test of a “clean” thermonuclear bomb, on a barge. Why? Because too many coral islands had been vaporized by previous high-yield tests. POPLAR was the fifth-largest US test.
Hardtack Poplar nuclear test
YouTube video by atomcentral
youtube.com
So I've been thinking about this whole thing a little: would a presidential order to use nuclear weapons in the event of their death be a legal military order? It's a tricky question. I don't think there's any written policy on it.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4w agoThis is total insanity. Words fail to explain how anyone let alone a plurality of voters thought giving an obviously demented person control of the most powerful government in the world was a good idea. We will be lucky to come out the other side of this alive.
From the man who ordered the killing of Iran's supreme leader. 🤷♂️
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 4w agoU.S. President Donald Trump said that the American military stood ready to “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” in response to threats to his life.
