Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed the law on the revocation of the ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), against a backdrop of conflict in Ukraine and crisis with the West. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was opened for signature in 1996, but it never entered into force because it was not ratified – a necessary step for its entry into force – by a sufficient number of States, among the 44 countries which had nuclear installations at the time of its creation. At the beginning of October, Mr. Putin announced that his country could revoke the ratification of the CTBT in response to the United States which never ratified it.
“I am not ready to say whether or not we should resume testing,” he added, while praising the development of new high-powered missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.
Russian nuclear doctrine provides for a “strictly defensive” use of atomic weapons
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian president has blown hot and cold regarding the use of nuclear weapons, deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, his closest ally, during the summer of 2023.
The law on revoking the ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was first adopted by the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, before being passed unanimously by the upper house at the end october. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called the vote “a response to the odious attitude of the United States towards its obligations to maintain global security.” At the end of October, Russia also carried out test firings of ballistic missiles aimed at preparing its forces for a “massive nuclear strike” in response.
Russian nuclear doctrine provides for a “strictly defensive” use of atomic weapons, in the event of an attack on Russia with weapons of mass destruction or in the event of aggression with conventional weapons “threatening the very existence of State”.
In February, Russia also suspended its participation in the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty signed with the United States in 2010, the last bilateral agreement linking Russians and Americans.