Putin Signs Law Revoking Russia’s Ratification of Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. 

On 18 October, the State Duma of the Russian Federation passed a law revoking the ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This will change Moscow's legal position regarding the possibility of conducting nuclear tests. 

The Russian Federation Council approved the law on 25 October.

On 5 October, Putin called on the Russian parliament to revoke its ratification of the agreement to "mirror" the position of the United States, which signed the 1996 treaty but never ratified it.

Russia says it will not resume nuclear weapons testing unless Washington does. However, arms control experts are concerned that it could come closer to conducting tests that the West would perceive as Russian nuclear escalation given the war in Ukraine.

Moscow has resorted to nuclear threats from time to time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Intelligence and Western leaders generally consider such a scenario unlikely.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the Russian parliament’s decision to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty as the latest step in the Russian Federation’s nuclear blackmail.