Trump explained that this decision was prompted by tests conducted by other countries. He noted that "this process will begin immediately." According to him, the U.S. has "more nuclear arsenal than any other country," which became possible due to the modernization of weapons during his first presidential term.
“I didn’t want to do this because of the enormous destructive power, but I had no other choice! Russia is in second place, and China is far from third, but in five years they will catch up,” the U.S. president added.
It is unclear whether Trump meant full nuclear detonations, testing of delivery systems, or subcritical tests that involve checking warheads without their actual detonation.
According to Deutsche Welle, the United States has not conducted full nuclear weapons tests since 1992. Washington signed but did not ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996. Since then, the U.S. has conducted subcritical underground tests at the Nevada test site.
The president's statement came just days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced tests of the "Burevestnik" cruise missile with a nuclear power system, as well as the underwater drone "Poseidon," which is also equipped with a nuclear power system. However, Russia has not made any official statements regarding the testing of nuclear weapons themselves.
