Russia Says It Will Step Back From Nuclear-Test Treaty
Ann M. Simmons, Michael R. Gordon, and Laurence Norman | The Wall Street Journal
Russia said it would revoke its ratification of a major international nuclear-test-ban pact, a move that threatens to exacerbate global instability brought on by the war in Ukraine. The step comes at a time when no arms talks between the U.S. and Russia are under way, Moscow has suspended its participation in the New START strategic-arms treaty, and ties between Washington and Moscow have reached lows not seen since the Cold War. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, said Friday that his country plans to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty but said Russia’s decision shouldn’t be read as a signal the country plans to resume nuclear tests.
On Russian Nuclear Threat, Putin Lets Others Rattle the Saber
Paul Sonne and David E. Sanger | The New York Times
Russia’s hard-liners are rattling the nuclear saber vigorously these days, on television and in academic journals, arguing that an atomic blast — in Ukraine, in Europe, or maybe in a test over Siberia — is the only way to restore the West’s fear of Russian might. But so far President Vladimir V. Putin is not joining the chorus. He’s not exactly shedding his bellicose approach to the West, but these days, when it comes to nuclear weapons, he seems to relish the role of the coolheaded decider, even as he keeps the threat of a nuclear strike alive.
Putin Makes Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile Test Claim
Robert Plummer | BBC News
Russia has held a "final successful test" of a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Vladimir Putin has claimed. The president's comments came after his spokesman rejected a New York Times report that testing of the weapon, known as the Burevestnik, was imminent…President Putin's account has not been independently confirmed and there has been no word so far from the Russian defence ministry…"We have now virtually finished work on modern types of strategic weaponry about which I have spoken and which I announced a few years ago," Mr Putin told a meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday which was broadcast live on state television. He added: "A final successful test has been held of Burevestnik - a global-range nuclear-powered cruise missile."
Trump Allegedly Discussed US Nuclear Subs with Foreign National After Leaving White House: Sources
Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Mike Levine | ABC News
Months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club -- an Australian billionaire who then allegedly shared the information with scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists, according to sources familiar with the matter. The potential disclosure was reported to special counsel Jack Smith's team as they investigated Trump's alleged hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, the sources told ABC News.
Suspending Military Deal with North Korea Would do More Harm than Good: Experts
Jeongmin Kim | NK News
South Korea’s new defense minister, who was inaugurated over the weekend, repeated his pledge on Tuesday to suspend a 2018 military agreement with North Korea “as soon as possible,” in the clearest indicator to date that the landmark deal’s days may be numbered. Speaking to local media on Tuesday, Shin Won-shik also compared South Korea to Israel in an apparent bid to justify the scrapping of the military agreement...Toby Dalton, senior fellow and co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment, agreed that it would be “a poor idea to scrap or suspend arrangements that still provide some utility in preventing incidents that could become crises, especially in the current climate.”
Zelenskiy Pledged not to Attack Nuclear Plant in Zaporizhzhia, says IAEA Chief
Dan Sabbagh | The Guardian
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promised him that Ukraine will not attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant as part of its counteroffensive against Russia. Rafael Grossi speaking at an IAEA press conference in Vienna, 11 September 2023 Rafael Grossi said the danger to the power station was that ‘anything can happen at any time’. In an interview with the Guardian, the nuclear watchdog chief said he was most concerned about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant becoming engulfed in fighting between the two sides, but insisted he had obtained a commitment from the Ukrainian president. “President Zelenskiy has personally assured me that they will not directly bomb or shell it,” Grossi said, although he added that Zelenskiy had told him “all other options are on the table” in terms of taking it back