Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that Russia had a “great success” testing its Poseidon underwater drone, describing the system as an important step in the country’s strategic weapons program, according to Reuters.
“For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power plant on which this device spent a certain time,” Putin said. “There’s nothing like this.”
“The power of the Poseidon significantly exceeds the power of even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental-range missile,” he said, referring to Russia’s SATAN II model.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval exercise from the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser in the Black Sea on January 9, 2020. The exercises involved warships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet, along with several ships from the Northern Fleet. More than 30 warships and 39 aircraft, including several Tu-95 strategic bombers, took part in the exercise. (Alexei Druzhinin / RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
First unveiled in 2018, the Poseidon is designed to travel across the oceans at high speeds using nuclear propulsion and carrying a massive nuclear warhead. Russian officials claim it can create destructive radioactive waves that could hit coastal targets, although its operational status has not been independently verified.
Putin also mentioned progress on other strategic systems, including the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, which Moscow says can fly indefinitely and evade missile defenses. Russian officials reported a successful test flight of the Burevestnik earlier this week as part of a broader demonstration of nuclear preparedness.
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval exercise from the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser in the Black Sea on January 9, 2020. The exercises involved warships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet, along with several ships from the Northern Fleet. More than 30 warships and 39 aircraft, including several Tu-95 strategic bombers, took part in the exercise. (Alexei Druzhinin/RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The successful Burevestnik test traveled more than 13,000 kilometers, Russia said, raising some eyebrows in the West.
On Monday, President Donald Trump responded to the recent Russian weapons tests by telling reporters aboard Air Force One that Putin should “end the war in Ukraine, not test missiles.” He added that the US “has a nuclear submarine right off their coast… so it doesn’t have to travel 8,000 miles,” and warned that “we’re not playing games with them either.”
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A Sarmat missile, also known as ‘Satan 2’, is fired from a secret location in Russia. (East2West)
Trump said that instead of focusing on missile development, Putin should “end the war… a war that should have lasted a week is now in its fourth year.”
In recent days, Moscow has intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have captured several villages on the front line and closing in on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Earlier this month, Putin said Russian forces had captured nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the start of the year – a claim Ukraine disputes.
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U.S. and NATO officials have not independently confirmed the Poseidon test, and the Pentagon declined to comment.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
