Russia has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump ordering the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing “on an equal basis” with Russia and China.
The Kremlin denied Russia’s tests of the Burevestnik missile at a nuclear facility contravened nuclear weapons testing regulations.
“If [Trump] is somehow referring to the Burevestnik test [as a nuclear test conducted by a certain country], then this is not a nuclear test in any way. All countries are developing their defense systems, but this is not a nuclear test,” Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary said according to the state-run TASS news agency.
Trump Orders Nuclear Testing
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday night, Trump wrote: “I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
Trump said he ordered nuclear weapons testing to “begin immediately” in his post to Truth Social, noting that other world powers like Russia and China have continually been testing.
The order came just a day after Putin announced the successful testing of Moscow’s nuclear-powered Poseidon torpedo, a long-range underwater drone capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Why It Matters
Russia and the United States continue to hold the world’s largest nuclear arsenals, each maintaining thousands of warheads—remnants of Cold War-era arms races that still define global strategic power. China ranks third but has been accelerating its nuclear buildup at an unprecedented pace. Analysts estimate Beijing’s stockpile reached roughly 600 warheads last year.
Despite the growing competition, none of the three nuclear powers is believed to have conducted a test detonation since 1996, when China carried out its last known nuclear test before signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty—a global accord prohibiting all explosive testing of nuclear weapons.
Putin Hails Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile After Latest Test
Putin last week hailed the country’s “unique” nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile after the military carried out new tests of the long-range missile and several of Moscow’s most destructive weapons.
The Burevestnik, also known by its NATO moniker, SSC-X-9 Skyfall, is a ground-launched, nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Russia claims the Burevestnik has a range long enough to strike the U.S.
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