MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The recent decision to move the Doomsday Clock closer to "nuclear midnight" reflects an increasingly volatile global situation, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Asked if the symbolic clock’s adjustment was part of Western efforts to escalate tensions further, he said: "It’s not the West that adjusts the clock but some scientists and organizations. This is their vision of the atmosphere of tension that persists in the world."
Peskov emphasized that the situation was indeed extremely precarious, with a significant number of active conflicts across the globe. "That said, there is every reason to be concerned," the Kremlin spokesman concluded.
On January 28, 2025, the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the Doomsday Clock had been moved one second closer to "nuclear midnight." The clock now reads 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been. In 2023, the symbolic clock was advanced by ten seconds to 90 seconds to midnight, and in 2024, the scientists did not move it. The factors that influenced their decision to advance the clock include arsenal buildup by nuclear powers, the collapse of arms control agreements, and ongoing conflicts involving nuclear powers. In addition, they pointed to insufficient efforts to combat climate change and a lack of measures to control advanced technologies.
The Doomsday Clock is a hypothetical clock designed to show how close mankind is to destroying itself. The project’s goal is to keep the international community informed of that risk. The clock’s position indicates the level of global tensions stemming from nuclear threats, armed conflicts, climate change, cyber warfare, biological terrorism, etc.