How big is Russia's nuclear arsenal?

Vladimir Putin has made another announcement about his country's nuclear arsenal.

The Russian president says he has signed an agreement with neighboring Belarus that allows such weapons to be kept there.

But how big is Russia's nuclear arsenal?

Thousands of warheads at Putin's disposal

Russia has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, which in 2022 is about 5,977.

That compares with 5,428 for the US, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

The US and Russia have both accused each other of developing newer types of nuclear weapons, but neither has tested one in decades.

The US last did so in 1992 and the Soviet Union in 1990.

Of Russia's total, about 1,500 are retired but probably still intact, about 2,800 are in reserve, and more than 1,500 are deployed on land-based or submarine-based missiles, or on heavy bomber bases.

That's far fewer than the 40,000 warheads the Soviet Union had at the height of the Cold War, but still enough to destroy the world several times over.

How are weapons distributed?

Russia appears to have about 400 nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can carry more than 1,000 warheads, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists says.

It has 10 nuclear-armed nuclear submarines, which can carry a maximum of 800 warheads, and about 60 to 70 bombers.

Putin says 10 aircraft are positioned in Belarus that can carry tactical nuclear weapons.

Who gives the order?

Moscow's nuclear doctrine says that power rests with the president, who carries a so-called nuclear bag from which he can order a strike.

It links the president to his top military commanders and then to Russia's nuclear forces through a secret communications network.