In 2025, nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein of the Stevens Institute of Technology explained that in a nuclear scenario, early strikes would likely focus on an adversary’s ability to respond. The logic is grim but strategic: if one side believes a conflict is unavoidable, its first objective would be to limit retaliation.
Wellerstein noted that if the adversary were a major nuclear power such as Russia, the most likely initial targets would be command-and-control centers and intercontinental ballistic missile sites. These locations matter not because of their size or fame, but because of what they enable. A different type of attacker, particularly a non-state or rogue actor, might prioritize population centers or symbolic landmarks instead, but state-level nuclear strategy follows a colder calculus.
