Kremlin Spokesperson Responds to Trump’s Nuclear Testing Remarks 

The Kremlin has rejected suggestions that Russia is carrying out nuclear weapons tests following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent statement about resuming them, Orda.kz reports, citing Novaya Gazeta.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Trump’s comments were puzzling, as Moscow was unaware of any country conducting such tests.

Trump mentioned that other countries are allegedly conducting nuclear weapons tests. Until now, we were not aware that anyone was doing such tests. And if it somehow refers to tests of the ‘Burevestnik’, then it is in no way a nuclear test. All countries are working on developing their defence systems, but this is not a nuclear test,
 Peskov said.

He stressed that a global moratorium on nuclear testing remains in place and warned that if any nation were to withdraw from it, Russia would respond “according to the situation.” Peskov also confirmed that Washington had not informed Moscow of any plans to resume nuclear testing.

When asked whether the world is entering a new arms race, the Kremlin spokesperson replied briefly:

According to Reuters, the United States last conducted a nuclear weapons test in 1992.

At the same time, ASTRA reported on October 30 that State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said:

Today, those abroad who are trying to harm us should be preparing to bow before our Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Putin - Ed.) — just so that he doesn’t use the Burevestnik and Poseidon, he said

Background

Vladimir Putin announced that on October 28, tests were carried out of the Poseidon underwater drone equipped with a nuclear power unit. He had previously spoken about the testing of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile with unlimited range.

Meanwhile, The Barents Observer, which examined NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) advisories from October 21 — the day Russia reported a missile launch — and found that much of the airspace around the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean had been closed. 

At the time, Norwegian intelligence also claimed the tests took place specifically on Novaya Zemlya.

According to The Barents Observer, several vessels linked to the tests were positioned along the archipelago’s coast, both on the Barents Sea and Kara Sea sides. Analysts note that increased activity around the Pankovo test site, where past tests have occurred, had been observed since the summer.

The Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority stated that none of its monitoring stations recorded any spikes in radiation levels. The nearest such station is located about 900 kilometers from the Pankovo site.

Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov said that tests of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile took place on October 21, claiming the missile flew for 15 hours and covered a distance of 14,000 kilometers.

He did not specify the exact location of the test.