Changes

In 1996 the [[US]] and [[Russia]] and others signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that would have blocked all [[nuclear weapon]]s testing. The US signed the agreement, but the [[US Senate]] refused to ratify the Treaty in 1999. The Russians signed and the [[Duma]] ratified the agreement, but in 2023 the Russian government withdrew its ratification<ref>https://www.armscontrol.org/blog/2023-11/nuclear-disarmament-monitor</ref> after s series of [[NATO]]-backed [[drone]] attacks on [[Moscow]].<ref>https://tass.com/politics/1612969?ysclid=mhnqoucu1y908219616</ref>

In 1996 the [[US]] and [[Russia]] and others signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that would have blocked all [[nuclear weapon]]s testing. The US signed the agreement, but the [[US Senate]] refused to ratify the Treaty in 1999. The Russians signed and the [[Duma]] ratified the agreement, but in 2023 the Russian government withdrew its ratification<ref>https://www.armscontrol.org/blog/2023-11/nuclear-disarmament-monitor</ref> after s series of [[NATO]]-backed [[drone]] attacks on [[Moscow]].<ref>https://tass.com/politics/1612969?ysclid=mhnqoucu1y908219616</ref>

On October 30, 2025 [[US President Donald Trump]] announced upcoming [[nuclear test]]s saying that other countries—including Russia and China—are already engaged in them, which they were not.<ref>https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-nuclear-tests-day/history</ref>

On October 30, 2025 [[US President Donald Trump]] announced upcoming [[nuclear test]]s saying that other countries—including Russia and China—are already engaged in them, which they were not.<ref>https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-nuclear-tests-day/history</ref>

 

Subcritical weapons tests are experiments that use chemical explosives to compress fissile materials like plutonium, but without creating a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, so no nuclear explosion occurs. [[China]], the [[US]] and [[Russia]] (possibly others including [[France]], [[UK]], [[Pakistan]], [[India]], [[Israel]], [[North Korea]] and other non-declared nuclear powers) are known or suspected of carrying out subcritical nuclear weapons testing.<ref>https://weapons.substack.com/p/nuclear-testing-its-the-pits</ref>

On November 5, 2025 [[Russian President Vladimir Putin]] stated in a Russian Security Council meeting that if the [[United States]] or other parties to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) conduct nuclear tests, Russia will take “adequate actions.”<ref>http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/78403</ref> Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and special services to prepare proposals on the feasibility of beginning work to prepare for nuclear tests. At the same time, he stressed that Russia has always strictly adhered—and continues to adhere—to its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and has no plans to deviate from those obligations. Defense Minister [[Andrei Belousov]] proposed starting preparations for full-scale nuclear tests in response to [[U.S.]] actions. “The readiness of the forces and facilities of the central test site on the [[Novaya Zemlya]] archipelago allows it to be carried out in a short time,” he said.

On November 5, 2025 [[Russian President Vladimir Putin]] stated in a Russian Security Council meeting that if the [[United States]] or other parties to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) conduct nuclear tests, Russia will take “adequate actions.”<ref>http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/78403</ref> Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and special services to prepare proposals on the feasibility of beginning work to prepare for nuclear tests. At the same time, he stressed that Russia has always strictly adhered—and continues to adhere—to its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and has no plans to deviate from those obligations. Defense Minister [[Andrei Belousov]] proposed starting preparations for full-scale nuclear tests in response to [[U.S.]] actions. “The readiness of the forces and facilities of the central test site on the [[Novaya Zemlya]] archipelago allows it to be carried out in a short time,” he said.