A view shows damaged cars, including a Toyota Land Cruiser, following an explosion caused by the detonation of an unidentified device, which reportedly injured an officer from Russia’s military intelligence agency, in the courtyard of a residential building in Moscow, Russia, July 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Two persons were wounded in a Moscow car bombing on July 24, with investigators probing the incident amid conflicting reports over whether a Russian military official and his wife were involved.

Officials said an unidentified explosive device tore apart a car in a residential courtyard in the north of the capital.

“Two people were wounded. The victims were taken to a medical facility by ambulance,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk added in a post on Telegram, without providing further details.

Citing unnamed sources in law enforcement, the state-run TASS news agency and several other outlets initially reported that a Russian military official named Andrei Torgashov — identified as a “serviceman and participant in the special military operation” in Ukraine — and his wife were hit.

But hours later that version was brought into question when several state outlets and Telegram channels reported they had spoken to Mr. Torgashov and his wife, who were unaffected.

“It’s a complete fake. This explosion has nothing to do with me,” RIA Novosti cited Mr. Torgashov as saying.

He said the car was not his and that he lived in a different part of the capital.

The Mash Telegram channel, which has connections to Russian authorities, posted what it said was CCTV footage of a man placing a device under a silver SUV in the middle of the night.

It also published footage that showed the same vehicle exploding seconds after a man got into the driver’s seat early on July 24.

The Investigative Committee said a unit that deals with “especially important cases” was running the investigation.

Several Russian military and pro-Kremlin public figures have been targeted in car bombings since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. File
| Photo Credit: AP

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, a move that Moscow said was needed to establish parity with the United States.

Mr. Putin has said that rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT, would “mirror” the stand taken by the U.S., which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.

Both houses of the Russian parliament voted last month to revoke Moscow’s ratification of the bill.

The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, but the treaty was never fully implemented. In addition to the U.S., it has yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, and Egypt.

There are widespread concerns that Russia may resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favour of a resumption of the tests.

Mr. Putin has noted that some experts argue for the necessity of conducting nuclear tests but said he had not formed an opinion on the issue.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last month that Moscow would continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does first.

A still image from video, released by the Russian Defence Ministry, shows what it said to be Russia’s Yars intercontinental ballistic missile test-launched at the Plesetsk cosmodrome during a military exercise rehearsing the country’s ability to deliver a massive retaliatory nuclear strike by land, sea and air, in this image taken from video released October 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

Russia’s military conducted a simulated nuclear strike in a drill Wednesday overseen by President Vladimir Putin, hours after the upper house of parliament voted to rescind the country’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban.

The bill to end ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, approved in the lower house last week, will now be sent to Mr. Putin for final approval. Mr. Putin has said that revoking Russia’s 2000 ratification would “mirror” the stance of the U.S., which signed but did not ratify the nuclear test ban.

State television showed Mr. Putin directing the exercise via video call with top military officials.

Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said the purpose of the drills is to practice “dealing a massive nuclear strike with strategic offensive forces in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy.”

While similar drills are held every autumn, Mr. Shoigu’s pointed comments came amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West over the fighting in Ukraine.

The test ban treaty, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, but the treaty was never fully implemented. In addition to the U.S., it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favor of a resumption of the tests.

Mr. Putin has noted that while some experts have argued that it’s necessary to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier this month that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does it first.

Mr. Ryabkov said Wednesday that the Russian Foreign Ministry had received U.S. proposals to resume a dialogue on strategic stability and arms control issues, but noted that Moscow doesn’t consider it possible in the current political environment.

“We aren’t ready for it because the return to a dialogue on strategic stability … as it was conducted in the past is impossible until the U.S. revises its deeply hostile policy course in relation to Russia,” Mr. Ryabkov told reporters in comments carried by Russian news agencies.