“Yesterday we carried out a new test of another promising systemhe Poseidon unmanned submarinealso from nuclear propulsion”said Putin Wednesday at a meeting with soldiers wounded in the Ukraine war.
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“For the first time it was possible not only to launch it from a carrier submarine using an auxiliary engine, but also start your nuclear propulsion systemwith which the device sailed for a certain period of time”highlighted Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy in the Kremlin, Moscow, on October 23, 2025. (Photo by Mikhail Tereschchenko / AFP).
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He added that The power of the Poseidon “significantly exceeds” that of the Sarmat intercontinental missilecapable of carrying 10-15 individually guided nuclear warheads.
“In addition, due to speed, due to the depth at which it navigates This device has no analogues in the world and it will hardly be possible to have them soon”he assured Putin.
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, on October 29, 2025. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP).
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hours later trump reacted from South Korea, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testinginterrupted for more than 30 years.
“Due to other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the War Department to to begin testing our nuclear weapons on equal terms”wrote trump on its Truth Social platform.
He emphasized that The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other countryand highlighted his own efforts to carry out “a complete upgrade and renewal of existing weapons.”
“Russia is in second place, and China is far behind, but it will be on par in five years,” added trump.
However, that statement is inaccurate Well, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia has 4,309 nuclear warheads deployed or stored, compared to 3,700 in the United States and 600 in China..
The world nuclear arsenal. (AFP).
On Thursday, Trump qualified his announcement and said that Its objective is to achieve “denuclearization” and including China in nonproliferation treaty negotiations with Russia.
“I would like to see denuclearization, because we have many (nuclear weapons) and Russia has suffered. Russia is second and China is third and China is going to get ahead in four or five years. I think that the de-escalation, what I would call denuclearization It would be a great thing. “Something we are talking about with Russia and we want to add China if we do it,” Indian.
From the Second World War until 1992 The United States conducted more than 1,000 nuclear tests. Until 1963 these tests were atmospheric and, from that date onwards, only underground tests were carried out.
Also on Thursday, The Kremlin told Trump that Russia has not carried out any nuclear testbut has simply tested two new generation atomic-powered weapons systems.
“This cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test.”, said Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman.
Peskov stressed that Moscow informed the White House about the Poseidon test.
For its part, The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the United States to “seriously” respect the international ban on nuclear tests.
The last nuclear test carried out by the United States was carried out on September 23, 1992. in the state of Nevada.
Since 1996, the United States has been a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treatybut has not ratified it.
While the Russia’s latest confirmed nuclear test (then the Soviet Union) was carried out on October 24, 1990in it Novaya Zemlya test sitein the Arctic.
Russia also signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treatybut in November 2023 it withdrew its ratification.
As a result, both the United States and Russia maintain a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, since the treaty has not yet entered into force because ratifications are missing from several key countries in addition to those already mentioned.
The dangers of a new nuclear race
Photograph taken on November 1, 1952, of the explosion of the first American H-bomb, on Enewetok Atoll, in the Marshall Islands. (AFP photo).
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The ambassador and international analyst Juan Alvarez Vita he told The Commerce that These ads are not simple demonstrations of strength.but the reflection of a new stage of global tension comparable—and even more dangerous—than Cold war from the past.
“We are in a new stage of the so-called Cold Warwhich many of us believed to have been overcome after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, but Russia is still Russia. It has a hegemonic vocation that is not going to abandon, nor will the United States. “Both are the great contenders for planetary dominance.”warned the expert.
As he explained, the presentation of the Poseidon is part of a logic of deterrence and psychological pressure between Moscow and Washington.
“Putin launches this new weaponry in response to Trump’s attitudes that Russia perceives as a threat. It is a psychological fight between both leaders, but it also drags down their allies. and puts the entire world at risk.”he added.
Álvarez Vita maintained that Putin’s message is twofold: reaffirm Russia’s strategic position vis-à-vis NATO and remember that Russian national security requires stopping the expansion of the Western alliance.
“Putin seeks to warn that Russia will not allow an expansive NATO policy and demands compliance with previous agreements that have been ignored. But beyond that, We are facing a continuity of the Cold Warwith the danger that the psychological balance will be broken and the conflict will escalate towards a global catastrophe,” said.
The specialist maintained that the announcements from Russia and the United States show the crisis of the international system of control and limitation of nuclear weapons.
“A complete reform of the international system must be considered, because there is no equality between States. In the UN Security Council, the five permanent members—the victors of World War II—retain the right of veto, and “They are precisely the main possessors of nuclear weapons.”, he pointed out.
He cited as an example the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty of Tlatelolcowhich turned Latin America into a nuclear weapons-free zone.
“These treaties have been partially successful, but the problem is that While some countries are obliged not to develop atomic weapons, others constantly perfect them. “This contradicts the principle of equality of States enshrined in the UN Charter,” Indian.
When asked if the possible resumption of nuclear tests It would be a situation equal to or more dangerous than that experienced in the Cold War, Álvarez Vita did not hesitate: “It would be many times more dangerous. After the disappearance of the Soviet Union, countries with nuclear capabilities continued to perfect their arsenal. Today the atomic potential is many times higher than it was 40 years ago”.
“From Hiroshima and Nagasaki until today, nuclear development has been a constant. It was thought that with the fall of the Soviet Union a period of peace would come, but reality shows the opposite. The war continues and the risk of a global catastrophe is increasingly higher.”he warned.
Álvarez Vita concluded with a disturbing reflection: “The fate of humanity could depend on the mental balance of a few nuclear-powered leaders. “That is the most tragic thing: that the future of the planet is in the hands of individual decisions, in an increasingly unbalanced international system.”
What is the Poseidon underwater drone like?
Illustrative image of the Poseidon underwater drone. (Chatgpt).
Presented by Putin as one of the technological jewels of the new Russian military era, Poseidon, also known as Status-6 or Kanyon in NATO classification, is a nuclear powered underwater drone designed to carry a high power thermonuclear charge capable of destroying coastal targets or entire fleets.
According to the Kremlin, its atomic propulsion system gives it a virtually unlimited range and one operational autonomy of several dayswhich would allow it to move thousands of kilometers under the sea without the need for resupply.
The artifact can be launched from submarines specially adaptedlike the K-329 Belgorodand operate at great depthsoutside the range of most current sensors and anti-torpedo systems. Moscow assures that its speed exceeds 200 kilometers per hour and? no Western defense system could intercept it.
But what generates the most alarm in the West is not only its speed, but its supposed destructive capacity. Various Russian reports claim that the Poseidon could detonate a nuclear charge powerful enough to cause a “radioactive tsunami”flooding and contaminating extensive coastal areas. Although many experts question the real viability of this scenario, the mere fact that it is proposed reinforces its value as a weapon of psychological deterrence.
