Putin flaunts doomsday drone, taunts Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that his military tested a nuclear-powered underwater drone called Poseidon, which he said can reach any continent and evade interception. The weapon carries a nuclear warhead of up to two megatons and travels faster than conventional submarines at depths beyond one kilometer.
Putin oversaw another nuclear weapons test days earlier involving the Burevestnik cruise missile. President Donald Trump criticized the tests and urged Moscow to end the Ukraine war instead of conducting military demonstrations.
Washington canceled a summit with Putin in Budapest and imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies. Trump expressed frustration over the absence of meaningful peace negotiations after nearly four years of fighting.
The weapons tests coincided with American troop reductions in Eastern Europe. Infantry and airborne units will leave Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary without replacement forces, though officials said this reflects stronger European defense capabilities rather than American withdrawal.
