Putin: Russia develops fresh atomic weapons and threatens to test

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Friday at the summit of Central Asia-Russia in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe that Russia is developing a fresh strategical atomic weapon and for Moscow will not be a problem unless the US agrees to extend the fresh START atomic treaty.PAP

Russian president Vladimir Putin stated that his country is developing a fresh strategical atomic weapon and is considering carrying out atomic tests if another countries decide to do so. Moscow besides signals readiness to extend the fresh START atomic treaty from the US.

New START, the last remaining US-Russian arms control treaty, expires on February 5, 2026. "Will these fewer months be adequate to decide to extend (the treatise)? I think it's adequate if it's good adequate to extend these agreements. And if Americans decide they don't request it, it won't be a large problem for us" - Putin said.

Russian atomic program

Putin added that Russia is inactive working on developing and investigating fresh generation atomic weapons. For the second time this week, he mentioned the anticipation of atomic tests being carried out by another countries and stated that if this happened, Russia would besides carry out specified tests.

"There is always a temptation to test the efficiency of the fuel utilized in rocket missiles for many, many years. It's all simulated on computers and experts think it's enough, but any of these experts think it's essential to repeat tests" - said the president of Russia. Deputy Minister of abroad Affairs of Russia Sergei Riabkov stated explicitly that if the US carried out a atomic test, Moscow would do the same.

Tensions around Ukraine

On Sunday, the president of the United States said that he had already made a decision on the transfer of the Tomahawk maneuvering missiles to Ukraine. As Reuters comments, this sparked Putin's tense reaction, which estimated that it would spoil Russian-American relations and began a fresh phase in the escalation of the conflict.

Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Defence Commission of the Russian Duma, warned that Russia will not only shoot down Tomahawks, but will besides bomb places from which they will be fired, Reuters reports. The parliamentarian added that Moscow will find a way to retort, which will be painful for Washington.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Pieskov stated Monday that Moscow welcomes U.S. president Donald Trump's statement. Trump estimated that Putin’s offer to extend the atomic treaty for 1 year fresh START is simply a good idea.

Sources used: "PAP" Note: This article has been edited with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.