Carried out on the day the Senate withdrew its ratification of the CTBT
Possibility of resumption of nuclear testing during war in Ukraine
On the day that Russia withdrew its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in the Senate, it launched ballistic and cruise missiles and conducted nuclear exercises in the land, sea and air. According to Reuters on the 25th, Russia announced that it conducted nuclear exercises to respond to a large-scale nuclear attack by the enemy under the video observation of President Vladimir Putin. The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Yars (pictured) was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka, and the ICBM ‘Cineva’ was launched from the nuclear-powered submarine ‘Tula’ in the Barents Sea. The long-range strategic bomber ‘Tupolev (Tu-95MS)’ launched a cruise missile in the air.
Coincidentally, this was the day that the Russian House of Representatives (State Duma) and the Senate unanimously passed a bill to withdraw CTBT ratification. The CTBT, approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, is a treaty banning all nuclear tests. Russia signed this treaty in 1996 and ratified it in 2000. As the CTBT ratification withdrawal bill passes through both the Russian Senate and the House of Representatives, ratification will be finally withdrawn in Russia once it receives President Putin’s approval.
Russia explains that it will resume nuclear tests only if the United States conducts a nuclear test first, but experts are concerned that Russia could conduct nuclear tests at any time. This is because the war in Ukraine is prolonging and a blackmail card is needed to stop the West from supporting Ukraine. Previously, in March, Russia declared that it would suspend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States.
On the same day, a powerful explosion occurred overnight near the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant in western Ukraine, and Russia is suspected of being behind it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in a regular speech that “there is a high possibility that the Russian drone targeted the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.