MOSCOW — In a dramatic escalation of nuclear tensions between the world’s two largest atomic powers, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that Russia would consider resuming nuclear weapons testing for the first time in over three decades, directly responding to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking during an emergency security council meeting, Putin instructed Russia’s defense and foreign ministries, along with security services, to “gather information on this topic” and develop “proposals on the possible start of preparation works for nuclear weapons tests.”
The directive came after Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov proposed beginning “immediate preparations” for nuclear testing at Novaya Zemlya, an Arctic archipelago that served as the Soviet Union’s primary nuclear testing site during the Cold War.
Trump’s Pentagon Order
The Russian announcement follows Trump’s social media statement last week in which he claimed to have instructed the Pentagon to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis” with Russia and China. The precise nature of Trump’s directive remains unclear, particularly whether it encompasses tests involving actual nuclear warheads or other types of weapons systems.
Russia has not conducted a nuclear test since 1990, the year before the Soviet Union’s collapse. The United States last tested a nuclear device in 1992.
Putin has consistently maintained that Moscow would mirror any American decision to resume nuclear testing. In October, he oversaw tests of two nuclear-capable weapons systems that did not involve atomic warheads, demonstrating Russia’s delivery capabilities while stopping short of an actual nuclear detonation.
The latest exchange represents another chapter in the ongoing nuclear saber-rattling between Washington and Moscow, which has intensified as diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict have stalled.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has attempted to broker an end to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. However, negotiations have produced no tangible progress, with Putin rejecting multiple ceasefire proposals. Trump has shown growing frustration with the Russian leader’s intransigence.
Aside from North Korea, no nation has conducted an atomic weapon test involving a nuclear explosion in the 21st century. The international community has maintained an informal moratorium on such testing, though several nuclear powers, including Russia and the United States, have never ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
A return to nuclear testing by either superpower would mark a significant setback for global nonproliferation efforts and could trigger a new arms race, potentially encouraging other nuclear states to resume testing programs that have been dormant for decades.
The international community now watches anxiously to see whether Putin’s threat will materialize into actual preparations, or whether it represents another round of strategic posturing in the increasingly fraught relationship between Moscow and Washington.
