US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the immediate resumption of nuclear weapons testing, a decision he said was driven by recent Russian advancements in nuclear-capable technology.
The announcement came just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the successful test of Moscow’s Poseidon underwater drone, an advanced nuclear-capable system designed to deliver warheads across oceans.
Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump declared that the United States “has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” crediting his first term for what he described as a “complete update and renovation” of America’s nuclear arsenal.
“Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it, but had no choice,” Trump wrote, asserting that rival nations were already advancing their own programs. “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”
He further revealed that he had instructed the Department of War to begin nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with other nations, stating that the process would begin “immediately.”
The decision marks the first official US directive to resume nuclear testing in decades, breaking with a longstanding moratorium observed since the early 1990s.
Russia’s Poseidon system, which Putin has previously described as “invincible,” is a nuclear-powered underwater drone capable of carrying massive payloads across intercontinental distances, potentially evading conventional missile defences.
