- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Russia will mirror any U.S. resumption of nuclear testing, echoing Putin’s stance on nuclear parity.
- U.S. remarks and Trump’s testing directive risk unraveling arms-control norms like the CTBT and could prompt dangerous reciprocal tests.
In a chilling exchange that’s sending ripples through international diplomacy, a top Kremlin official has vowed that Russia will mirror any U.S. move to resume nuclear weapons testing—a direct echo of warnings from President Vladimir Putin himself.
The statement, delivered amid renewed saber-rattling over global arms control, underscores the fragile state of nuclear nonproliferation efforts as the world grapples with an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.
The latest salvo came from Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s ever-present spokesperson and a close confidant to Putin.
The FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
Speaking on Thursday, Peskov addressed recent comments from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who appeared to greenlight preparations for the first American nuclear tests in decades.
Russia Speaks on Nuclear Testing Ban Lift
“If we consider this [Rubio’s words] to be confirmation that the US is lifting the ban on testing, then this indeed signifies Washington’s intention to conduct such tests, as this would interrupt a long-standing period of a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing,” Peskov declared, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
He didn’t stop there. “As our president has said, in that case, Russia will respond in kind,” Peskov added, his words carrying the weight of Moscow’s long-standing doctrine on nuclear parity.
This isn’t just rhetoric—it’s a callback to Putin’s own repeated assertions that Russia won’t stand idly by if the U.S. upends the post-Cold War nuclear status quo.
The backdrop? President Donald Trump’s October announcement that America would ramp up nuclear testing, a move critics have decried as a dangerous step backward from the 1992 moratorium that’s held firm across successive administrations.
Rubio, speaking to reporters just a day earlier, sought to frame the policy as pragmatic realism.
“The testing plans are on par with what other countries are doing,” he said, brushing aside concerns about escalation.
His remarks, delivered with the casual assurance of a seasoned diplomat, only fueled the Kremlin’s suspicions.
To Moscow, it’s not just about tests; it’s about signaling a potential unraveling of treaties like the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which the U.S. signed but never ratified, and the broader New START agreement that’s already on life support.
A Timeline of Nuclear Brinkmanship
Trump’s directive followed intelligence suggesting China and North Korea are advancing their arsenals without restraint.
Putin, meanwhile, issued an order on November 5 for Russia’s Defense Ministry and nuclear agency to analyze the implications of U.S. testing and prepare recommendations.
“Russia is trying to send a signal to the Trump administration that if it goes forward with a nuclear test, Russia will follow suit, and that would be a very dangerous development,” said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.
North Korea remains the only nation to conduct a nuclear test this century, with its last detonation in 2017.
What’s next?
Will the U.S. move forward with tests in Nevada?
Will backchannel talks cool things down? Peskov’s warning—“Russia will respond in kind”—is both promise and threat. In the nuclear game, symmetry isn’t strategy. It’s survival.
This is a developing story.
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
