The landfill on Novaya Zemlya is under the jurisdiction of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian FederationMOSCOW, February 21.
/tass/. The task set by Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume nuclear tests in Russia, if necessary, will be fulfilled - the test site on Novaya Zemlya is maintained in readiness for resumption of work. This was reported to TASS on Tuesday by a source close to the military department.
"The task set by the President of Russia to prepare for nuclear tests will certainly be fulfilled. The Novaya Zemlya test site has always been maintained and is being maintained in readiness for the resumption of nuclear tests, if necessary," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, in a message to the Federal Assembly, Putin set a corresponding task for the Ministry of Defense and Rosatom. They "should prepare to conduct nuclear tests if necessary, but Russia will not conduct them first."
On February 8, Vyacheslav Solovyov, scientific director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, told TASS that the Novozemelsky nuclear test site, if necessary and with the appropriate political will, is ready to resume nuclear tests. He explained that "there is a special program in place to maintain the readiness of the landfill."
The landfill on Novaya Zemlya is under the jurisdiction of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. 130 tests were carried out on its territory from September 21, 1955 to October 24, 1990: 88 atmospheric, 3 underwater and 39 underground.