Putin signs law revoking Russia's ratification of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Nov. 2 a law revoking Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), according to the government's website.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said earlier in October that Russia would end its compliance with the treaty in order to be "on equal footing" with the U.S., which has signed but not ratified the document.

The bill was subsequently approved by both houses of the Russian parliament and now comes into force with a presidential signature.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has been signed by 187 countries since its origin in 1996.

Russia signed the CTBT in 1996 and ratified it in 2000. No country besides North Korea has officially conducted a nuclear test in 25 years.

The Kremlin and Russian state media often use veiled or overt threats of a nuclear strike against rival nations, including Ukraine or Western countries.

Opinion: Russia’s move to de-ratify the nuclear test ban treaty signals Putin’s aggravation with the war

At the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia is moving to undo its ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that prohibits all nuclear weapons tests. This represents another step in the Kremlin’s effort to try to punish the United States and the West for their

The Kyiv IndependentSteven Pifer