Overview
- At a Security Council meeting, Vladimir Putin directed the foreign and defense ministries, security services, and civilian agencies to gather information and submit coordinated proposals on whether to begin preparations for nuclear weapons tests.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the instruction is to assess the advisability of preparations rather than to start preparing or testing immediately.
- Putin said Russia would take reciprocal measures if the United States or any Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty signatory conducts an explosive test, noting Russia has observed a moratorium since its last detonation in 1990.
- President Donald Trump said he ordered an immediate resumption of U.S. nuclear testing, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the directive likely refers to non-explosive system or “noncritical” tests, leaving the scope ambiguous.
- Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and General Valery Gerasimov said the Novaya Zemlya range could host tests at short notice but warned full test readiness can take months to years, as experts caution a break in the testing moratorium could trigger an action–reaction cycle.