Vladimir Putin has instructed Russia’s top officials to develop proposals for resuming nuclear-weapons tests if the Donald Trump administration proceeds with its own “testing immediately” announcement — underscoring the widening nuclear standoff between the two powers.
In a meeting of his Security Council, Putin said that if the U.S. or any signatory of the Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test‑Ban Treaty conducts nuclear-explosive testing, “Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures.” He added: “I instruct the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, special services and the corresponding civilian agencies to do everything possible to gather additional information … and submit coordinated proposals on the possible first steps focusing on preparations for nuclear-weapons tests.”
Although Russia has not carried out an explosive nuclear test since the end of the Soviet Union, the instruction signals that Moscow views the U.S. announcement as a potential precedent that could undermine the decades-long moratorium on nuclear blasts.
The development follows Donald Trump’s recent directive that the U.S. “immediately” resume testing on an “equal basis” with other nuclear-armed states — though the exact nature of the testing (whether full explosive or delivery system only) remains unclear.
Several senior Russian military officials pressed for quick action. Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin that the United States’ recent moves increase the military threat level to Russia and called for readiness “to inflict unacceptable damage.” He named the Novaya Zemlya test site in the Arctic as potentially ready for use.
General Valery Gerasimov, the Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, warned that if Russia did not act now, it might lose the window of opportunity to respond to U.S. actions in a timely way.
The episode underscores how a single motion by one nuclear power can prompt immediate ripples. Analysts say a return to explosive testing would erode longstanding norms under the CTBT and carry major strategic risks — potentially triggering a new, dangerous arms-race cycle.
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At this stage, no formal order has been given to resume testing, only for proposals and preparations to be drafted. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin “did not give instructions to begin preparations for testing [itself] … the president instructed that the advisability of beginning preparations for such tests be considered.”
With tensions mounting, all eyes are now on how Washington and Moscow interpret each other’s next steps — and whether the fragile nuclear equilibrium of the past 30 years begins to unravel.