Russia has successfully tested its ability to deliver a massive retaliatory nuclear strike by land, sea, and air, the Kremlin said in a statement on October 25, in what is being seen as a thinly veiled display of force just hours after lawmakers in Moscow de-ratified an international nuclear test ban treaty.
The announcement by the Kremlin of the test, which simulated a nuclear strike in response to a nuclear attack and involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, comes amid concerns in the West that Moscow may resume nuclear tests in an attempt to discourage countries from offering military support to Ukraine, where Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Moscow has said that despite its de-ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) -- the upper house of parliament approved the move on October 25 -- it has no plans to abandon a 1992 moratorium on nuclear test blasts. Russia would only resume such testing if the United States did so first, Moscow has said.
But some Russian lawmakers also have spoken in favor of a resumption of the tests at a time when relations with Washington are at their lowest since the Cold War and could be aimed at evoking fears of a standoff with the West.
Russian state TV showed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu talking to President Vladimir Putin about the exercise, saying the test was a rehearsal for "a massive nuclear strike" in response to an aggressor's nuclear attack.
"Practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place during the training," a statement from the Kremlin said.
According to official reports, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was fired from a test site in the Arkhangelsk region at a target in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. At the same time, a nuclear-powered submarine launched a ballistic missile from the Barents Sea and Tu-95MS long-range bombers test-fired air-launched cruise missiles, the Kremlin statement said.
The Federation Council approved the de-ratification of the CTBT by 156 votes to 0, the final stage before it goes to Putin for his signature. Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, passed the bill earlier this month. Putin had called for the action to "mirror" the position of the United States, which has signed but never ratified the 1996 treaty.
The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178 but cannot go into force until eight holdouts -- China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and the United States -- have signed and ratified it.
Though the United States has not ratified the treaty, it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapons test explosions since the 1992 moratorium and says it has no plans to abandon the treaty.
Putin has said he has not made a decision on resuming tests, while noting some experts have argued that it's necessary to conduct them.
CNN published satellite images last month showing Russia, the United States, and China have all built new facilities at their nuclear test sites in recent years.
The U.S. Energy Department said last week it conducted a chemical explosion at its nuclear test site in Nevada "to improve the United States' ability to detect low-yield nuclear explosions around the world."
“These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals,” said Corey Hinderstein, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation. “They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.”
Speaking to the Federation Council before the vote on October 25, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Nevada test was "undoubtedly a political signal."