UN chief warns nuclear tests 'shatter trust,' fuel arms race

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged all nuclear-armed nations to maintain existing moratoriums on weapons testing and formalize global prohibitions against atomic detonations, warning that such explosions shatter international trust and fuel dangerous arms races. Posting on the social media platform X, Guterres stated that "Nuclear tests shatter trust, fuel a nuclear arms race & betray every community still living with the legacy of past nuclear tests," while urging countries to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into full legal force.

Russia tests nuclear-capable missile

The appeal followed an announcement from Moscow that the Russian Defense Ministry had conducted a training launch of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region, with the weapon reaching its designated target at the Kura training ground in the Far East Kamchatka region. Moscow confirmed that the launch was intended to confirm the "tactical, technical, and flight characteristics of the missile system," according to the ministry.

Treaty awaits key ratifications

Although adopted in 1996 to establish a legally binding global prohibition on all nuclear explosions, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has not entered into full force because nine key nations have yet to ratify the agreement. The activation remains contingent upon ratification by all "Annex 2" states that possessed nuclear technology during the treaty's negotiation, including the United States, Russia, China, Iran, Israel, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. As of 2026, 188 states have signed and 179 have ratified the treaty.