Russia, China warn US over nuclear test order

Russia and China have issued warnings to the United States after President Donald Trump ordered the first nuclear weapons test in 33 years, expressing concern over the decision. Trump claimed the move was prompted by “the actions of adversaries”.

The United States ushered in the nuclear age in July 1945 with its first atomic bomb test in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Just a month later, it dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, shocking the world and making nuclear arms a symbol of global destruction.

According to the United Nations, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted worldwide between 1945 and 1996. The United States carried out over 1,000 of these, while the Soviet Union conducted more than 700. France, China and Britain later joined the list of nuclear testing nations.

Even after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) came into force, ten tests were conducted. India and Pakistan carried out four tests in 1998, while North Korea conducted six between 2006 and 2017.

Tensions have escalated recently after a planned Trump–Putin meeting in Hungary over the Ukraine ceasefire collapsed, followed by Russia’s new weapons tests. China has also been expanding its nuclear arsenal. Trump cited these developments as reasons behind his decision to resume US nuclear testing.

China has urged Washington to withdraw the decision, while Russia insisted that its recent tests involved nuclear-powered torpedoes and cruise missiles, not nuclear detonations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while the United States, as a sovereign nation, can make its own decisions, President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that if any country withdraws from the moratorium on nuclear testing, Russia will respond in kind.

Meanwhile, fresh discussions have begun regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that it has found no evidence of Iran producing nuclear weapons.