WASHINGTON, BRATISLAVA. US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement ordering the resumption of nuclear testing by the United States has revived memories of the Cold War era.

Throughout the 20th century, the United States, Russia, and China regularly tested new weapons to deter each other with the threat of mutually assured destruction. A return to constant threats may be imminent.

"Since others are doing [nuclear weapons] tests, I think it's appropriate that we do them too," Trump said Thursday.

It is not yet known whether Trump meant testing nuclear weapons or testing systems belonging to the nuclear arsenal. The Bulletin of the American Nuclear Scientists notes that these are two different things that the American president may not be clear about.

"It's hard to understand what he means," said nuclear weapons expert Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists, adding that Trump is also wrong.

The US president stated that the United States has the most nuclear weapons in the world, which is not true - Russia has more.

Among other things, Trump ordered the US Department of Defense (he calls it the Department of War) to resume nuclear testing, which is also strange, since the US Department of Energy is responsible for nuclear testing.

The agreement is not binding.

The last nuclear weapon test in the United States took place under President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

The tense period of the last century ended with the advent of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which world powers agreed to in the mid-1990s. However, the document is still without formal force, having not been ratified by enough signatories, including the United States, the New York Times recalls. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023.

US President Trump revived the debate on Thursday about suspending compliance with the non-binding agreement when he referred aboard Air Force One to other leaders who he said were conducting nuclear tests.

However, this actually only applies to North Korea, which is the only country to have conducted nuclear tests in the 21st century, with the last nuclear test being carried out by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2017. Russia has not conducted a nuclear test for 35 years, and China for 29 years.

During the Cold War, China carried out 45 nuclear explosions, Russia 715 and the United States 1,030.

Trump was reportedly angered by Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statement that the Kremlin had tested two nuclear weapons carriers - a cruise missile and a Poseidon submarine-launched torpedo that could theoretically cross the Pacific Ocean and hit the United States coast.

Both are designed to evade US missile defenses, which are aimed at intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The US president, who had already considered reviving the possibility of nuclear tests during his first term, added that he does not include China among the states conducting nuclear tests, as it has, according to him, weak capabilities.

However, the Pentagon has previously estimated that, given its rapid development, China will reach parity with the United States and Russia by 2035, the New York Times points out.

Computers will not replace exams

The topic of resuming nuclear testing has been taboo for years, according to Politico magazine, partly because between 1945 and 1980, thousands of American citizens were given cancer and other diseases caused by radioactivity.

Critics say that by resuming nuclear weapons testing, the US would signal permission to other countries to do the same and fuel a global arms race.