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Russia Dumps US Nuclear Deal, Reclaims 34 Tons of Weapons-Grade Plutonium
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russia has officially terminated a bilateral agreement with the United States on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium, a move that further deepens the dismantling of nuclear arms control frameworks between the two countries.
According to the Russian State-owned news-agency TASS, the Russian Parliament passed passed legislation on October 8 denouncing the 2000 agreement that obligated both Russia and the US to each dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium, material deemed excessive for defense needs.
The agreement was ratified in 2011 and intended to convert the plutonium into fuel for nuclear power plants.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that “preserving Russia’s obligations under the plutonium agreement with the United States is no longer acceptable under current conditions.”
According to TASS, Ryabkov also reiterated that Russia’s conditions for restoring the deal—such as the repeal of sanctions and the Magnitsky Act —remain unmet.
A supporting document submitted to parliament cited “a fundamental change in circumstances,” including NATO expansion, US sanctions, and American support for Ukraine, as justification for the formal withdrawal.
Although the treaty remained technically in force, Russia had already suspended its participation in 2016. At the time, the Kremlin accused Washington of failing to meet its obligations and introduced unrelated political demands, including the rollback of NATO infrastructure and the repeal of US sanctions imposed following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The agreement was one of the early nuclear arms control arrangements pursued after Vladimir Putin’s first presidential term began. Although not on the scale of treaties like New START, the last remaining arms control pact with the United States, the agreement was seen as a practical step toward reducing nuclear threats by repurposing surplus plutonium.
The formal termination of the plutonium agreement means that the 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium that Russia was meant to render unusable for weapons could now potentially be redirected back into its military stockpile. As noted in the Duma’s official explanatory note, further obligations related to this material are considered “inexpedient.”
Earlier, report says that Russia remained the top supplier of enriched uranium to the United States in 2024, providing 20% of the fuel used in American nuclear reactors, Bloomberg reported on September 30. This occurred despite a formal US import ban signed in May, with waivers still allowing deliveries through 2028 in cases of national interest or lack of alternatives.
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