At the Security Council meeting, the minister noted that the United States is consistently withdrawing from international agreements on arms reduction and control, while they are "actively modernizing" their strategic offensive forces. In his opinion, such actions, including possible nuclear tests, "significantly increase the level of military threat to Russia."
This situation requires Russia to maintain the readiness of its nuclear arsenal for retaliatory actions against the adversary, ensuring the country's protection under any circumstances. In this regard, Belousov emphasized the need to immediately begin preparations for full-scale nuclear weapon tests.
In response, Putin did not give his consent but instructed the heads of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and intelligence services to "gather additional data" on U.S. plans in this area and present "coordinated proposals on possible steps for preparing nuclear weapon tests."
The last nuclear tests were conducted at the "Novaya Zemlya" test site on October 24, 1990, after which a moratorium on such actions was introduced. In 1996, Russia and the U.S., along with other countries, signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but it was never ratified.
On October 26, 2025, Putin announced the testing of the "Burevestnik" cruise missile with a nuclear power system, which he first mentioned in 2018. Three days later, he also noted the successful tests of the "Poseidon" unmanned underwater vehicle, which is also equipped with a nuclear power system.
After that, Donald Trump stated that the U.S. would "immediately" begin nuclear weapon tests "on equal terms" with other countries conducting similar actions. On November 5, a planned launch of a Minuteman III missile with a non-nuclear warhead was carried out from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
