Russia’s military conducted exercises with nuclear-capable missiles on Wednesday, shortly after the legislature unanimously voted to revoke their ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
According to Colonel General Viktor Esin, the former head of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, these exercises were part of a regularly scheduled annual training plan conducted every October. Esin claimed the exercises were not political. Meanwhile, Head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu claimed the exercises were to practice how the country would carry out a nuclear strike if it were to be attacked with nuclear firepower first. The Russian military widely publicized videos of the exercises across state media, with the Kremlin announcing that the exercises were overseen by President Vladimir Putin and were completed in full.
The Russian Duma initiated the de-ratification process of the treaty earlier this month amidst heightened nuclear tensions due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The treaty, which Russia originally signed in 2000, uses seismological and other technology to monitor nuclear testing. However, the treaty has never fully come into effect due to the absence of eight countries, including the United States, who have never ratified it. Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Duma, cited this as a significant reason for revoking the ratification and considered America’s failure to sign the treaty a “double standard”. Russian officials have stated that Russia will not resume nuclear testing unless the US does the same.
Meanwhile, the US has argued that although it has not officially ratified the treaty, it has practiced a moratorium against nuclear test explosions since 1992. It considers the Duma’s recent steps as actions that weaken international norms against the use of nuclear weapons.
Legal and international relations professionals will certainly be watching this situation closely as it continues to unfold.