Next week, Russia's parliament will vote on withdrawing Russia's ratification of the treaty that bans nuclear tests.
The move could provide Moscow with legal cover to conduct a test involving a nuclear explosion for the first time since 1990, perhaps to remind Ukraine and the West of the reality of things.
The State Duma is expected to hold a first reading on the bill next Tuesday.
Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma's international affairs committee, said he expected it to complete its passage two days later.
