Russia

Nuclear-armed state

Possesses 5,459 nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

Russia has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

National position

In 2019, the minister for foreign affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, said that the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons cannot be achieved “by the unilateral and rather arrogant methods on which this document [the TPNW] is based”.

In 2024, Russia argued that “there is no reason for us to support the TPNW and other radical initiatives in this area”, alleging that the “persistent promotion of such ideas”, under current circumstances, is counterproductive and provokes further splits among states with and without nuclear weapons, “threatening to cause irreversible damage” to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968.

It rejected “claims that the TPNW is closely related to and complementary to the NPT in promoting and encouraging nuclear disarmament”, arguing that the TPNW “cannot serve as a framework for the implementation of practical measures to reduce nuclear weapons”.

Russia has consistently voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.

Along with other nuclear-armed states, Russia has said that it does “not accept any claim that the [TPNW] contributes to the development of customary international law”. It has called on all states that are considering supporting the treaty “to reflect seriously on its implications for international peace and security”.

A message projected onto the UN headquarters in New York in 2022 calls on Russia to join the TPNW. Photo: ICAN

Nuclear-weapon programme

Russia possesses approximately 5,459 nuclear weapons, which it can launch from missiles, submarines, and aircraft. In 2024, Russia spent an estimated US$8.1 billion to build and maintain its nuclear forces.

The former Soviet Union tested 715 nuclear weapons between 1949 and 1990, at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in modern-day Kazakhstan and across modern-day Russia and Ukraine.

Meetings of states parties

Like other nuclear-armed states, Russia did not observe the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. However, it issued a statement at the conclusion of the meeting criticising the outcomes.

“In connection with the desire to put on a permanent basis the efforts to universalise the TPNW, as recorded in the final documents of the conference, we emphasise: Russia does not intend to join this agreement and believes that the treaty does not establish any universal standards,” a government spokesperson said.

TPNW negotiations

Russia did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.

Ahead of the commencement of the negotiating conference, Lavrov said: “Efforts to coerce nuclear powers to abandon nuclear weapons have intensified significantly recently. It is absolutely clear that the time has not yet come for that.”

In 2016, Russia voted against the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

ICAN campaigners criticise the decision of nuclear-armed states, including Russia, to boycott the TPNW negotiations in 2017. Photo: ICAN

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Russia

Nuclear-armed state

Possesses 5,459 nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Nuclear-weapon programme

Meetings of states parties

TPNW negotiations

Further information

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