---
title: "Kremlin expresses alarm over 'Doomsday Clock', blames US and NATO"
description: "Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Kremlin expressed alarm on Wednesday that the \"Doomsday Clock\" had edged closer to midnight than ever, even though the scientists who moved the symbolic dial cited Moscow's own \"thinly veiled threats\" to use nuclear weapons."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Doomsday Clock"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-25-kremlin-expresses-alarm-over-doomsday-clock-blames-us-and-nato/"
published: "2023-01-25T14:08:07"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 234
---

# Kremlin expresses alarm over 'Doomsday Clock', blames US and NATO

> Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Kremlin expressed alarm on Wednesday that the "Doomsday Clock" had edged closer to midnight than ever, even though the scientists who moved the symbolic dial cited Moscow's own "thinly veiled threats" to use nuclear weapons.

By Reuters · Published 25 January 2023, 16:08 SAST

## Key points
- The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its "Doomsday Clock" to 90 seconds to midnight for 2023, a 10 second decrease from the past three years. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine are causing an alarming situation with no prospect of detente. President Vladimir Putin's repeated warnings of using nuclear weapons was cited as a key factor in this decision. The Bulletin's President Rachel Bronson cautioned that escalation of conflict by any means is a terrible risk. This move serves as a reminder to take appropriate measures to avoid potential disaster.
- The “Doomsday Clock” has moved 10 seconds closer to midnight, the theoretical point of annihilation.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for a sober appraisal of tensions between Russia and the West.
- President Vladimir Putin’s repeated warnings that Moscow might be prepared to use nuclear weapons was a key factor in the decision to advance the clock.
- Escalation of the conflict by accident, intention or miscalculation is a terrible risk, according to Bulletin president Rachel Bronson.

## Content

The "Doomsday Clock," created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to illustrate how close humanity has come to the end of the world, on Tuesday [moved](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3482FN&linkedFromStory=true) its "time" in 2023 to 90 seconds to midnight, 10 seconds closer than it has been for the past three years.

Midnight on this clock marks the theoretical point of annihilation. The clock's hands are moved closer to or further away from midnight based on scientists' reading of existential threats at a particular time.

"The situation as a whole is really alarming," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, calling for a sober appraisal of the tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis.

He said there was no prospect of any detente, based on "the line that was chosen by NATO under U.S. leadership".

"This imposes on us a duty to be particularly careful, to be alert and to take appropriate measures," he added.

On Tuesday, the Bulletin's president cited repeated warnings by President Vladimir Putin and other Russian politicians that Moscow might be prepared to use nuclear weapons as a key factor in the decision to advance the dial of the "Doomsday Clock".

"Russia's thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict by accident, intention or miscalculation is a terrible risk," Rachel Bronson told a news conference in Washington.

(Writing by Gareth JonesEditing by Mark Trevelyan)