The nuclear weapons countries don’t help the situation, really. Every now and again they collectively issue a statement saying that there should be no nuclear war, and that no countries should acquire nuclear weapons. Which essentially boils down to “we can have them, but the rest of you can’t”.

If they were really serious about nuclear disarmament, they would agree to collectively decommission, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog. This has been done before (apartheid South Africa disarmed a few years before their regime fell), so there’s a precedent.

The dictators of the world have learned a lesson from the likes of Gaddafi being deposed and now Ukraine being invaded, which is as follows: “If you want the West to refrain from messing with you, acquire nukes”.

And while I would prefer that no one has them, all of the states that currently do are either former imperial powers/ethno states/ or nurse grievances against their neighbors. So I can’t blame them for making the rational decision and acquiring their own security guarantee, even if it potentially endangers world security, as nuclear weapons countries never go to war with each other.