Putin Considers Withdrawing from Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Tests Experimental Cruise Missile

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia may consider withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Putin stated that experts recommend testing new weapons to ensure they "work without failure." He also confirmed that Russia has successfully tested an experimental nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile. Putin criticized the US for failing to ratify the treaty and warned that Russia could revoke its ban on nuclear weapons tests. Russian lawmakers have been given 10 days to study the possibility of revoking Moscow's ratification of the treaty. The move has been denounced by the US State Department, which says it endangers the global norm against nuclear explosion tests. The New York Times has reported that Russia may be preparing to test, or has already tested, the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile. Satellite imagery and aviation data suggest that Russia may be preparing to test the missile, which has a theoretical range of thousands of miles.