Putin Signals Potential Nuclear Test Preparations Amid U.S. Provocations

Russia might be preparing to resume nuclear weapons testing if the United States initiates tests, President Vladimir Putin stated Wednesday in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding testing.

Last week, Trump mentioned on social media that he had directed the Pentagon to “begin testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis” with Russia and China. It was unclear whether he was specifically referencing nuclear warhead tests.

“I have tasked the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, intelligence agencies, and other relevant civilian authorities to gather more information, analyze it at the Security Council, and present coordinated recommendations concerning potential preparations for nuclear weapons tests,” Putin announced on Wednesday.

Since 1990, the year prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has not officially conducted a nuclear test.

In 1996, the two largest nuclear powers in the world signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a significant agreement aimed at completely prohibiting all nuclear tests.

Although Moscow ratified the CTBT in 2000, Washington never finalized its ratification into law, and in 2023, Putin withdrew its ratification.

“Russia has consistently fulfilled its obligations under the CTBT, and we have no intention of departing from them,” Putin told senior security and defense officials Wednesday.

“Nevertheless, if the United States or other parties to the treaty conduct tests, Russia will also have to take appropriate measures,” he warned.

Defense Minister Andrei Belousov called for immediate readiness in the Novaya Zemlya Arctic archipelago, citing U.S. weapons modernization and recent comments from high-ranking U.S. officials.

“It would be prudent to start preparations for full-scale nuclear tests without delay,” he advised Putin. “The Novaya Zemlya test site is ready for rapid execution of these tests.”

However, the Kremlin later downplayed Putin’s statement, asserting that the president did not initiate preparations for new nuclear tests.

Putin merely “instructed that the feasibility of beginning preparations for such tests be assessed. That is what will be analyzed now,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified.

In October, Putin oversaw two routine tests of nuclear-capable weapons that did not involve nuclear warheads.

Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has been attempting to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but negotiations have made little headway. He has expressed growing frustration with Putin, who has dismissed several requests for a ceasefire.

Apart from North Korea, no nation has conducted an atomic weapon test with a nuclear explosion in the 21st century.

AFP contributed to this report.