"Immediate" resumption: Trump announces immediate start of nuclear weapons tests

The US will resume nuclear weapons testing. President Trump announced this on his platform TruthSocial. He justified the measure by citing the testing programs of other countries.

US President Donald Trump has announced on his social media platform, TruhSocial, the resumption of US nuclear weapons testing. "Because of other countries' testing programs, I have directed the Department of Defense to begin testing our nuclear weapons on the same basis," Trump wrote. The tests are to begin "immediately."

This announcement came shortly before his planned meeting with China's Xi Jinping. In a post, Trump declared that the US "has more nuclear weapons than any other country," placing Russia second and China "a distant third, but tied within five years." He claimed to have completely modernized and renewed the US arsenal during his first term.

Resuming the tests would represent a significant shift in US policy. The US has maintained a voluntary moratorium on nuclear weapons testing since 1992.

Response to Russian tests

Shortly before, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that Moscow had tested the nuclear-powered underwater drone "Poseidon." It could be equipped with a nuclear warhead, the Russian state news agency TASS quoted a representative from the Russian military-industrial complex as saying. There was "no way" to intercept the drone, which was faster than conventional submarines and could reach any continent in the world, Putin said.

On Sunday, the Kremlin chief announced the completion of tests with Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missiles. According to Putin, the cruise missiles have an "unlimited range." Trump had described the tests as "inappropriate."