Nuclear showdown: Trump fires back at Putin's challenge
Illustrative photo: The US and Russia return to the nuclear arms race (GettyImages)
Following Moscow's announcement of the Poseidon torpedo, the world once again finds itself on the brink of a new Cold War. In response, Washington announced its intention to conduct its first nuclear weapons tests in decades, CNN reports.
The US President instructed the Pentagon to begin preparations for American nuclear weapons tests for the first time in decades.
This statement came a few hours after Vladimir Putin announced the successful testing of the Poseidon underwater nuclear torpedo.
"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," says Trump. He stresses that the decision was not related to China, hinting that it was a response to Moscow's actions.
Poseidon and Satan-2: new signals from Kremlin
Speaking at a military hospital in Moscow, the Russian leader said that the Poseidon torpedo has a range of over 9,000 kilometers and is virtually impossible to intercept. According to him, the power of the new system significantly exceeds that of intercontinental missiles.
In addition, he mentioned the rapid deployment of the Sarmat missile, known as Satan-2, and recalled the previous test of the Burevestnik missile with a nuclear engine.
Analysts note that such statements by Moscow are aimed at increasing pressure on the West and Ukraine. Despite experts' doubts about the real effectiveness of these systems, the Kremlin's nuclear rhetoric remains an instrument of political influence.
Risks of new arms race
After the failure of diplomatic efforts, Russia moved on to demonstrative military maneuvers, including nuclear triad exercises.
Earlier, the US President noted that Putin should not boast about this and recalled that the war, which was supposed to last a week, has been going on for four years.
However, the new statement about Poseidon was a turning point. The decision to resume US testing could ultimately destroy the architecture of nuclear arms control.
The START III treaty expires in February 2026, and without a new agreement, the 2 nuclear powers will once again find themselves on the path to an arms race.
On October 30, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ways to resolve the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies and agree on further steps in economic cooperation.
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