MOSCOW – A top Russian diplomat issued a stark warning on Wednesday, declaring that Moscow would conduct a nuclear test with little hesitation if the United States decides to carry out one first. The high-stakes declaration, reported by the state news agency RIA, escalates the war of words between the two nuclear superpowers and threatens to shatter the decades-old global taboo on nuclear weapons testing.
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| Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov |
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by RIA, stating that Russia has been observing ongoing and active preparations at America's nuclear test infrastructure for some time. He framed Russia's potential action not as an escalation, but as a direct and immediate retaliation.
"If the United States does indeed conduct a test, Moscow will swiftly follow suit," Ryabkov stated, leaving no room for ambiguity.
This latest threat is a direct echo of comments made by President Vladimir Putin in October 2025. At that time, Putin announced that Russia would be forced to conduct a nuclear test if another nuclear power did so, cryptically noting that Moscow had seen signs that an unnamed country was preparing for such an event. Ryabkov's comments on Wednesday explicitly name the United States as the focus of Russia's concern.
The statements signal a grave erosion of long-standing arms control norms established since the end of the Cold War. While the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996 has not formally entered into force due to non-ratification by key countries including the United States, a de facto international moratorium on nuclear testing has been largely respected. The last U.S. test was in 1992, and Russia's last was in 1990 during the Soviet era. North Korea is the only country to have conducted a nuclear test in the 21st century.
A resumption of testing by either Washington or Moscow would represent a monumental shift in global security policy. It would not only risk triggering a tit-for-tat response from the other, but could also unravel the entire global non-proliferation regime, potentially encouraging other nations to pursue or test their own nuclear arsenals.
The accusation that the U.S. is preparing its test sites, likely referring to the Nevada National Security Site, adds a tangible and alarming element to the rhetoric. While Washington may frame any such activities as maintenance or subcritical experiments (which do not produce a nuclear chain reaction), Moscow is clearly interpreting them as preparations for a full-scale detonation.
This geopolitical chess match places immense pressure on the remaining arms control agreements and norms that have, until now, prevented a full-blown nuclear arms race. As diplomats trade warnings, the international community watches on, concerned that the world is inching closer to the precipice of a dangerous new nuclear era.