Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled the plutonium disposal agreement with the US. On October 27, 2025, i.e. Monday, he signed a law formally terminating the agreement. The main purpose of this deal was to prevent both countries from making more nuclear weapons. Putin’s move has been taken amid the ongoing political tension with US President Donald Trump.
Under the plutonium agreement, both the US and Russia were obliged to destroy 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium that was not needed for military use. This agreement was signed in September 2000 and was amended in 2010. Its aim was to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. According to American officials, the deal would have eliminated the material needed to make about 17,000 nuclear weapons.
Russia had already suspended the deal in October 2016. At that time, Russia had described the sanctions imposed by the US and the increasing activities on NATO’s eastern border as ‘hostile actions’.
Along with this decision, Russia also successfully tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile ‘Burevestnik’. President Putin claimed that this missile is the most unique in the world and its flight range is almost infinite. This missile can stay in the air for 15 hours and cover a distance of about 14,000 kilometers.
This development has further increased tensions between the US and Russia. US President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure over the slow progress in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Recently, the US imposed new sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, calling them ‘appropriate and necessary steps’ to end the war. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said, ‘President Trump has always said that he will impose sanctions on Russia when he sees fit, and yesterday was that day.’
