Report: Satellite images hint at expansion of nuclear test sites in US, Russia and China

In satellite images exclusively obtained by CNN, increased activity has been observed at newly constructed facilities and recently dug tunnels in the nuclear sites of the United States, Russia, and China.

These images have surfaced at a time when tensions have risen among these three major nuclear powers over the past few decades.

While no specific evidence has emerged to suggest that any of these countries are preparing for nuclear testing, the images obtained depict expansion at the nuclear test sites.

One of these nuclear test sites is located in the far western region of Xinjiang, operated by China, another is in an Arctic Ocean archipelago, operated by Russia, and the third is in the Nevada desert, operated by the United States.

The satellite images reveal the construction of new tunnels beneath mountains, as well as the building of new roads and storage facilities over the past three to five years, according to Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He also noted an increase in traffic flow at these nuclear sites.

“We are seeing many indications that suggest Russia, China, and the United States may be considering the resumption of nuclear testing,” Lewis remarked in an interview with CNN. None of these countries has conducted nuclear testing since the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty banned underground nuclear tests. While China and the US signed the treaty, they did not ratify it.

Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, a former intelligence analyst, reached a similar conclusion after reviewing the images of the nuclear sites in the three countries.

“It is evident that all three countries—Russia, China, and the United States—have invested significant time, effort, and resources not only in modernizing their nuclear arsenals but also in preparing for the activities required for a nuclear test,” he stated.

Although the treaty was ratified by Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in February that he would order a test if the US took the first step, emphasizing that “no one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.”

“The threat from nuclear testing lies in the way it accelerates the growing arms race between the United States on one hand and Russia and China on the other. The consequence is that we spend vast sums of money, even though we don’t become any safer,” Lewis said.