Russia Calls US Nuclear Bomb Test 'Provocative' Weeks After Putin Announced Arsenal Expansion

The U.S. military's test earlier this month of a B61-12 nuclear bomb in Nevada was an “openly provocative” attempt to antagonize Moscow, a top Russian official said Monday.

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov condemned the exercise just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his plan to expand Russia’s own nuclear arsenal.

The U.S. Air Force and National Nuclear Safety Administration used an F-15E fighter-bomber to test-launch a warhead-less bomb July 1.

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