Kremlin denies Burevestnik missile launch heralds return to Russian nuclear testing

The Kremlin on Thursday denied that Russia’s successful test launch of its nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered 9M730 Burevestnik intercontinental missile last week, or that of its underwater nuclear-capable torpedo Poseidon on Monday, represented a unilateral return to nuclear testing in breach of a moratorium introduced in the 1990s.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov’s comments came after the announcement by US President Donald Trump on Thursday that Washington would immediately resume its own nuclear testing in light of the Russian military’s recent actions.

Trump on Monday described the Russian tests as “not appropriate” and added that Vladimir Putin should focus on ending the war in Ukraine “instead of testing missiles”.

Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump justified the need for new American nuclear tests as a necessary response to “other countries’ testing programmes” and to ensure that the US would be operating “on an equal basis”.

Peskov denied that Russia’s recent launches could “in any way” be interpreted as nuclear tests, adding that the Kremlin had not received advance warning of Trump’s response from the White House.

Russia, Peskov said, was still adhering to the global moratorium on nuclear testing, but added that if other states stopped doing so, Russia would “act accordingly”, the BBC reported. Russia hasn’t conducted a recognised nuclear test since the collapse of the USSR, with the last Soviet test taking place in 1990.

Peskov sought to downplay fears that Trump’s move could further escalate global tensions, however, and when asked if Washington’s decision heralded the beginning of a new nuclear arms race between Russia and the US, Peskov responded “not really”.

If carried out, the US tests would be the country’s first since 1992, when then-president George H.W. Bush ordered a moratorium on all nuclear testing following the end of the Cold War.

Since the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, only North Korea, India and Pakistan are known to have violated its terms. Crucially, however, the treaty was never ratified by the US, something that ultimately led Vladimir Putin to revoke Russia’s own ratification in 2023.