The Ministry of Defense announced the conduct of experiments on Novaya Zemlya
Russia is conducting non-nuclear experiments at the Novaya Zemlya test site, the purpose of which is to confirm the reliability of the domestic nuclear arsenal. Major General Igor Kolesnikov, head of the 12th Main (nuclear weapons) department of the Russian Defense Ministry, spoke about this on the air of the Military Acceptance program on the Zvezda TV channel.
According to him, 132 nuclear tests took place on Novaya Zemlya between 1954 and 1990.
“Further, since the 1990s, taking into account the imposition of a moratorium, not a single nuclear explosion has been carried out at this test site,” he said.
Kolesnikov recalled that in 1996 Russia signed and in 2000 ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Non-nuclear (so-called “subcritical”) explosive experiments (NWE) are carried out to assess the reliability and safety of the existing nuclear arsenal. The data obtained in the NVE make it possible to analyze the operability and reliability of the tested model of a nuclear charge, as well as the possibility of extending its shelf life.
Earlier, American journalist Caleb Larson suggested that Moscow could be the best place to survive in the event of a nuclear conflict.
