Finnish President says A “New Era Of Nuclear Weapons” has begun

Monday 03 November 2025 - 14:00

By: Sahili Aya

Finnish President says A “New Era Of Nuclear Weapons” has begun

HELSINKI — Finnish President Alexander Stubb declared on Monday, November 3, that the world has entered a “new era of nuclear weapons,” following recent statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who reiterated his intention to resume nuclear testing.

“The logic of deterrence and the strategic stability between the great powers are undergoing profound changes,” Stubb said during a speech in the Finnish capital. “We have entered a new era in which, unfortunately, the role and importance of nuclear weapons continue to grow,” he warned.

Trump’s comments last week triggered global concern and diplomatic unease after he expressed plans to restart nuclear tests—though he did not specify whether he referred to tests of delivery systems or to actual nuclear detonations, the latter of which the United States has not conducted since 1992.

The announcement comes amid an increasingly volatile nuclear rhetoric, intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent days, Moscow has tested nuclear-powered weapons, including the Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile.

No major power has carried out a formal nuclear test in the past 30 years, with the exception of North Korea, which conducted six tests between 2006 and 2017. The former Soviet Union stopped testing in 1990, and China in 1996.

Trump also claimed that China and Russia are secretly conducting nuclear tests—an allegation Beijing denied on Monday—and said that the United States would follow suit.

Faced with this new reality, Stubb emphasized that Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 after decades of military non-alignment, must work closely with its allies to confront emerging nuclear challenges.