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Disarmament DiplomacyIssue No. 33, December 1998 - January 1999Russian Sub-Critical TestsOn 24 December, Russia's Deputy Minister of Nuclear Energy, Lev Ryabev, stated that Russia conducted five sub-critical nuclear tests at its Novaya Zemyla site in the Arctic between 14 September-13 December. Ryabev told the Interfax news agency that "no discharge of nuclear energy" was involved in any of the tests, which are a major means of obtaining information about nuclear warheads without resorting to full-scale radioactive explosions.Report: Russia admits to five nuclear tests, Associated Press, 24 December. © 1998 The Acronym Institute. |