"The size and composition of the nuclear forces should take into account the possibility of a one—time aggression by Russia and China," the document says. It is noted that the current US military doctrine needs to be updated in a timely manner, since today it does not involve conducting military operations on several continents at once.

"This is an existential challenge for which the United States is ill—prepared," the report of the US Congressional commission says.

According to the commission's assessment, Russia is the country with the largest nuclear potential, and its leadership in this area will remain at least until 2035. The ability of Russian launch vehicles - in particular, the RS—28 Sarmat and R-30 Bulava-30 missile systems, as well as the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles - to effectively bypass all currently existing American missile defense systems is noted. The Congress pointed out that China should not be considered as a lesser threat based on a quantitative assessment of its nuclear arsenal. According to the commission's forecast, in the event of a nuclear conflict, Beijing will launch targeted nuclear strikes and use the full potential of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), which has a quantitative advantage in personnel and conventional weapons. At the same time, it is emphasized that by 2049 China will be able to overcome the lag behind Russia and the United States in the nuclear sphere.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed Moscow to terminate the ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He recalled that both Russia and the United States have signed a treaty on the cessation of nuclear tests, but only Moscow has ratified it, which may serve as a reason to reconsider the issue of ratification. At the end of February, Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the implementation of the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START III). The Russian leader emphasized that Moscow is not withdrawing from the treaty, namely suspending its participation.