the Dead Hand system, developed during the Cold War, was designed to ensure that even in the event of a total decapitation strike, Russia could still launch a retaliatory nuclear attack.

Russia and Ukraine said they had agreed at peace talks on Monday to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev is reported to have said that after all-out nuclear war, "the living will envy the dead." UNIDIR's Podvig is cautious about revealing his own calculations.

Maya Mehrara is a News Reporter at Newsweek based in London, U.K.. Her focus is reporting on international news. She has covered Ukraine, Russia, immigration issues, and the revolution in Iran.

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