Days after Russia tested two so-called nuclear “super weapons”, Donald Trump has ordered the US military to test its own atomic arsenal on par with other nations.
Just minutes before he met Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea, the US president posted on social media that he had ordered testing of nuclear weapons to start straight away.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“That process will begin immediately.”
The announcement comes hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin had successfully tested a nuclear-powered drone, which local media previously said was capable of using an atomic explosion to cause a powerful radioactive tsunami.
Putin said that during the test, the Poseidon drone travelled on nuclear power for the first time.
He didn’t say where the trials were conducted or give any other details, and the test wasn’t independently verified.
“For the first time, we managed not only to launch it from its carrier submarine … but also to activate its nuclear power unit, allowing the vehicle to operate for a certain period of time,” Putin said.
”In terms of speed and operating depth, there is nothing like this unmanned vehicle anywhere in the world, and it’s unlikely that anything similar will appear in the near future. And there is no way to intercept it.”
The Russian president also claimed the weapon is impossible to intercept.
Just three days earlier, Putin also claimed to have successfully tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, known as the Burevestnik.
Both the Poseidon and Burevestnik were among the six so-called “super weapons” announced by Putin in March 2018.
It’s not certain whether Trump has ordered the US to restart testing of nuclear warheads, or just the missiles and other vehicles that would deliver them.
Washington hasn’t carried out any nuclear tests since 1992, while Russia’s last one came in 1990.
However, since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) came into effect in 1996, other nations have; both India and Pakistan in 1998, and North Korea as recently as 2017.
In today’s social media post, Trump falsely claimed the US has more nuclear weapons than any other nation.
“This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office,” he added.
“Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice!”
And, just minutes before he met with Chinese President Xi, Trump also issued a warning about Beijing’s nuclear stockpile.
“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years,” he wrote.
Russia has the most nuclear warheads in the world, followed closely by the US.
China sits in third place, ahead of the United Kingdom and France.
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