Russia has reaffirmed its commitment to the global moratorium on nuclear weapons testing, even as it warned that it would be forced to respond if the United States resumes such tests. The Kremlin’s statement on Sunday followed reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to restart nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with other powers — a move that would mark the end of a three-decade pause in nuclear detonations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that President Vladimir Putin had not issued any order authorising a nuclear test and reiterated that Moscow would continue to observe its moratorium, originally implemented after the Soviet Union’s last nuclear test in 1990. However, Peskov cautioned that any U.S. decision to resume testing would compel Russia to act in kind.
“Russia will maintain its moratorium on nuclear weapons testing,” Peskov said. “But if the United States breaks the three-decade-long international pause, we would be compelled to respond to maintain strategic parity with other nuclear powers.” He added that nuclear balance remains “the most important component of global security architecture today.”
Trump’s directive to the Department of War to resume testing was justified, he said, by the need to match other countries’ activities. Writing on Truth Social, Trump claimed that under his leadership, the United States achieved “a complete update and renovation” of its nuclear arsenal, adding, “I hated to do it, but had no choice. Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told RIA Novosti that Moscow is still awaiting a formal response from Washington to Putin’s earlier proposal for a quantitative freeze on strategic nuclear weapons following the expiration of the New START Treaty in February 2026. “We are told through diplomatic channels that the matter is being considered,” Lavrov said. “We are prepared for any development, but we hope the outcome will be positive.”
Signed in 2010 and implemented in 2011, the New START Treaty limits both the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The agreement was extended once in 2018, but its verification mechanisms were suspended after Russia invaded Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions. Despite this, both sides informally agreed to continue observing the treaty’s limits. Putin had offered in September 2025 to extend this voluntary moratorium by another year.
In recent months, Russia has tested advanced nuclear-capable systems such as the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone, both said to have “virtually unlimited range.”
Moscow’s last nuclear test was conducted in 1990, while the United States last carried one out in 1992. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), though never formally in force, has effectively established a global moratorium on testing — a status now threatened if either side resumes underground detonations.
Russia’s renewed warning signals the fragility of global nuclear stability, with both nations positioning themselves for a potential end to arms control agreements that have served as the cornerstone of nuclear restraint for more than three decades.
