WASHINGTON, February 17. /TASS/. The US administration claims that both Russia and China have conducted low-yield nuclear tests in recent years.
Addressing a Hudson Institute seminar, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Christopher Yeaw said that current situation in this sphere is extremely disadvantageous for Washington. "Well, ask our Russian and Chinese counterparts, what are they gaining out of these tests? They're conducting the tests again," he said. "I'm aware that they are repudiating the facts. The facts are the facts."
According to Yeaw, China conducted such a test at the testing range near Lake Lop Nur in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on June 22, 2020. "Of course, impossible to tell," he stated. In his words, China uses "decoupling, which is essentially a method to reduce the effectiveness of seismic apparatus to detect this." An CTBT seismic station in Kazakhstan detected a 2.75 magnitude tremor that was "entirely not consistent with an earthquake," he explained.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty’s "flaw," in his words, "ultra low yield tests" cannot be detected. In such an environment, "the treaty becomes basically a fig leaf," he argued. The CTBTO Preparatory Commission acknowledged in February that "there might be some imitations to" its capability to detect nuclear tests, he added.
In November 2025, the White House said that the Pentagon had been instructed to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately, citing the fact that other countries were already doing so. It did not specify what kind of tests were meant or whether they would include the detonation of nuclear warheads. Russian President Vladimir Putin said back then that Russia had always been committed to its obligations under the CTBT and would continue doing so until any other country conducted such tests.
Back in 2019, the United States accused Russia of resuming nuclear tests, giving no proof to these allegations. Moscow categorically denied those allegations and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission confirmed Russia’s compliance with the moratorium on nuclear tests.