Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The 1996 treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons, though it never came into force because some key countries – including the United States and China – never ratified it.

The West has accused Russia of using reckless nuclear rhetoric since it launched its offensive on Ukraine last February.

Putin last week oversaw ballistic missile drills in what Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said was practice for a “massive” retaliatory nuclear strike against an unnamed enemy.

Putin also said last month he was “not ready to say” whether Russia would carry out live nuclear tests.

The bill to revoke the treaty passed through Russia’s parliament last month in a fast-track process.

During parliamentary hearings, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the move to revoke the treaty was a response to the United States’ “cynicism” and “boorish attitudes” on nuclear weapons.

The Soviet Union last carried out a nuclear test in 1990, while the United States’ last test was in 1992.

The law’s text on Russia’s legal portal states that Moscow will no longer be bound by the UN-backed nuclear test ban starting Nov. 2.

Both Russia and the United States signed the treaty in 1996, but while Moscow ratified it in 2000, Washington never took the final step of codifying it into law.

Other holdouts to the treaty include China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel, as well as Egypt and Iran, both of which have not yet developed nuclear weapons themselves.