Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia “will not hesitate” to test nuclear weapons if the United States takes similar steps.
According to Russia’s TASS news agency, Ryabkov made the comments in an interview with the state-run RT television network, but there is no indication that the United States is planning another nuclear weapons test.
The comments came against a backdrop of renewed nuclear threats from senior Russian officials as the Kremlin seeks to block Western military aid to Ukraine. Speaking at Russia’s Security Council on September 25, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian government would not use nuclear weapons in response to what he called a “coordinated attack” from non-nuclear states supported by nuclear-capable allies. He suggested that there is a possibility of countering this.
Ryabkov told RT that he would respond in kind “without hesitation” if the United States conducted another nuclear weapons test. Ryabkov reiterated his warning to Russian news agencies in September that Russia would not launch new nuclear tests unless the United States took first action.
In his September remarks, Ryabkov insisted that “nothing has changed” in Russia’s nuclear doctrine, adding: “As defined and formulated by the President of the Russian Federation, we can carry out such a test, but if the United States If you do not exercise self-restraint, we will not implement the measures,” he added. Such a procedure. ”
The United States has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1992, and there is no indication that it plans to do so. Washington and Russia both signed, but did not ratify, the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits the detonation of nuclear weapons for testing purposes.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon Press Office and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment Saturday by email outside of normal business hours.
Stock photo showing Russian police officers near the Kremlin in Moscow, June 24, 2023. A senior Russian official has warned his country that it “will not hesitate” if the United States resumes nuclear weapons tests. Stock photo showing Russian police officers near the Kremlin in Moscow, June 24, 2023. A senior Russian official has warned that Russia “will not hesitate” if the United States resumes nuclear weapons tests. See more
Mark Galeotti, a senior associate research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said in an interview with Newsweek magazine, “This idea that a non-nuclear state with the support and backing of a nuclear state could provoke a nuclear response… , that’s a very clear statement.” “If Ukraine launches any major attack in such a situation, we reserve the right to respond with a nuclear attack.”
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council on September 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Washington and London were “already preparing Europe to plunge into a suicidal act” and, as he called it, “aimed at victory.” He emphasized the meaninglessness and danger of the very idea of fighting against the enemy. A nuclear-armed state like Russia. ”
In July, the United States announced plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026. The missiles include the SM-6, the Tomahawk, and hypersonic weapons under development, which have “much longer ranges than current land-based fires in Europe.”
Russian troops continue to make slow and costly advances into eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, with 98.8% in Luhansk Oblast as of October 3, according to Angelica Evans, a Russia researcher at the US-based Institute for the Study of War. It is said that they control the percentage. think tank.
