Russian President Vladimir Putin told top officials on Wednesday to come up with plans that could let Moscow restart nuclear testing—if the United States does the same. The order followed President Donald Trump’s recent comments that the U.S. might begin its own nuclear tests.
At a Security Council meeting in the Kremlin, Putin made clear that Russia will only re‑launch tests once Washington does. Yet he also asked the defence and foreign ministries, along with other agencies, to study the U.S. position and draft proposals for resuming nuclear experiments.
Trump’s hints surfaced last week while he was in South Korea. He suggested that the U.S. could test nuclear weapons again on an “equal basis” with Russia and China. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the new tests would not involve nuclear explosions, but the warning was loud enough to prompt Moscow’s reaction.
The U.S. has not detonated a nuclear weapon since 1992. It signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which has been observed by all nuclear‑armed states except North Korea, but the Senate never ratified it. In 2023, Russia formally withdrew its ratification so that Moscow could match the U.S. on a global nuclear stage.
During the council meeting, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov warned that U.S. upgrades to its atomic arsenal and a possible resumption of tests would heighten the military threat to Russia. He urged that Russia should be ready to test at the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic, a site last used in 1990. Gen. Valery Gerasimov echoed the urgency, stressing that preparing for nuclear tests can take months or even years, and Russia must act soon.
After hearing from military leaders, Putin asked government agencies to gather more information, analyze it, and submit coordinated plans for possible test preparations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that no orders had been issued to start preparations yet. “We need to fully understand Washington’s intentions before making any decisions,” he said.
Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev also weighed in on social media, noting that Trump’s remarks cannot be ignored. “The president of the United States said that if he talked about nuclear testing he might be serious about it,” Medvedev posted on X. “We must assess whether it is expedient for Russia to conduct full‑fledged nuclear tests itself.”
As U.S. officials point to a “modernization” of the nuclear arsenal, Moscow remains on alert, listening closely to what the U.S. may do next. The world watches to see whether the long‑standing nuclear test ban will be broken on either side, and what that could mean for global security.
Source: New York Post
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
