Pentagon: The United States suspects Russia of conducting nuclear weapons tests
The Head of the Pentagon’s intelligence department Robert Ashley said the US Department of Defense suspects that Russia may be running nuclear weapons tests.
Specifically, Washington suspects that it is likely that Russia does not comply with the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban treaty. Signing countries introduced a full moratorium on this practice, according to Radio Svoboda.
As Robert Ashley said, that technically Russia is able to conduct tests that go against the prohibitions outlined in the treaty.
Washington and NATO believe that the Russian Federation violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) when it created the 9M729 missile capable of flying more than 500 kilometers. The Russian military in turn argues that the 9M729 missile cannot fly past the 500 kilometer mark.
In December 2018, the United States threatened to withdraw from the agreement if Russia did not fulfill its contractual obligations within 60 days. At the end of the two months, Washington announced it was withdrawing from the INF.