Russia’s military conducted exercises with nuclear-capable missiles Wednesday, shortly after the legislature unanimously voted to revoke their ratification of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Colonel General Viktor Esin, the former head of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, has claimed the exercises were not political but part of a regularly scheduled annual training plan held every October. Head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu claimed the exercises were to practice how the country would carry out a nuclear strike if it were to be attacked with nuclear firepower first. The Russian military widely publicized videos of the exercises across state media. According to the Kremlin, the exercises were overseen by President Vladimir Putin and were “completed in full.”

The Duma began the de-ratification process earlier this month in the midst of heightened nuclear tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The treaty, which Russia signed in 2000, requires the use of seismological and other technologies to monitor nuclear testing in the country. However, the treaty has never come into full force due to the absence of eight countries, including the United States, who have never ratified it. Chairman of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said this was a major reason for revoking the ratification. On his Telegram account, Volodin called America’s failure to sign the treaty a “double standard.” Several Russian officials have insisted that Russia will not resume nuclear testing unless Washington does the same.

The US has argued that although it never ratified the treaty, it has practiced a moratorium against nuclear test explosions since 1992. US officials say the move by the Duma weakens global norms against the use of nuclear weapons.