The article aims to unpack the paradoxical double-edged nature of military nuclear infrastructure in relation to nuclear disarmament. On the one hand, efficient nuclear complex provides the nuclear weapon possessors with confidence in the sensitive final stages of nuclear abolition, and therefore facilitates the political decision to engage in disarmament.
On the other hand, the maintenance of a robust infrastructure beyond the abolition point as a latent ""virtual arsenal"" represents a serious threat to the stability of the disarmament regime.