MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will take “reciprocal measures” should the United States or any other signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) resume nuclear weapons testing, escalating tensions between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
Speaking during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday, November 5, Putin directed senior government, defence, and intelligence officials to prepare proposals for the possible resumption of Russia’s nuclear weapons tests.
The move comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the immediate restart of American nuclear testing, ending a decades-long pause observed under international disarmament frameworks.
“Back in my 2023 address to both houses of parliament, I noted that if the United States or other state parties to the relevant treaty carried out such tests, Russia would accordingly have to take proportionate responsive measures,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript.
He further instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defence Ministry, and security agencies to gather intelligence on Washington’s nuclear testing plans and prepare recommendations for Russia’s potential response.
Russia has not conducted a nuclear test since 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both Moscow and Washington signed the CTBT, though the treaty has never formally entered into force due to the non-ratification by key states, including the United States and China.
The renewed nuclear standoff comes amid deepening political and military friction between the two nations.
Trump’s administration recently imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil firms and cancelled a planned bilateral summit in Hungary, signalling a deterioration in U.S.–Russia relations since his return to the White House in January.
Trump’s nuclear testing directive followed his sharp criticism of Russia’s test of the Burevestnik missile, a nuclear-powered cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov warned that the U.S. decision had raised “the level of military threat to Russia,” urging the Kremlin to maintain “our nuclear forces at a level of readiness sufficient to inflict unacceptable damage.”
He added that Russia’s Novaya Zemlya testing site in the Arctic could be reactivated at short notice if required.
Meanwhile, General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff, told Putin that Moscow must act swiftly to avoid losing strategic parity. “If we do not take appropriate measures now, time and opportunities for a timely response to the actions of the United States will be lost,” he said.
According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (CACNP), Russia holds approximately 5,459 nuclear warheads, of which about 1,600 are actively deployed, while the United States maintains around 5,550, with 3,800 in active service.
Global observers warn that renewed nuclear testing by either side could further erode decades of non-proliferation progress and trigger a new arms race, with unpredictable geopolitical consequences for Europe, Asia, and beyond.
