Overview
- Following a Security Council meeting, Putin tasked the foreign ministry, defense, intelligence and civil agencies to gather information and submit coordinated proposals on preparing potential tests.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the directive is to assess whether to begin preparations rather than to start them, and he set no timeline.
- Defense Minister Andrei Belousov urged immediate readiness and said tests could be organized quickly at the Novaya Zemlya range used in the Soviet era.
- Putin reiterated that Russia remains committed to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and reserved reciprocal measures if the United States or other participants conduct explosive tests.
- U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated any upcoming U.S. tests would exclude nuclear explosions, while Iran and China publicly reaffirmed strategic coordination against perceived U.S. unilateralism.