Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered his top officials to draft proposals for a possible test of nuclear weapons, something Moscow has not done since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin that recent remarks and actions by the United States meant that it was “advisable to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests” immediately.

Belousov said Russia’s Arctic testing site at Novaya Zemlya could host such tests at short notice.

Putin said: “I am instructing the foreign ministry, the defence ministry … the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests.”

No country apart from North Korea – most recently in 2017 – has carried out explosive tests of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. Security analysts say a resumption of testing would be destabilising at a time of acute geopolitical tension.

If any one country carries out such a test, analysts say the others are likely to follow suit.