Overview
- President Trump last week directed the Pentagon to immediately restart U.S. nuclear testing but has not said whether this entails underground detonations or non-explosive system trials.
- President Vladimir Putin instructed Russia’s foreign, defense and security bodies to collect information and submit coordinated proposals on preparations, warning of reciprocal steps if the U.S. conducts a nuclear explosion.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said officials are assessing the expediency of preparations rather than starting them, as the Foreign Ministry urged Washington to resolve what it called contradictory signals.
- The U.S. conducted an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM test from California, and Russian officials cited Novaya Zemlya as a site they say could host tests at short notice.
- Security analysts warn that resuming explosive testing by major powers could trigger an action-reaction cycle and further weaken already strained arms-control arrangements.