US President Donald Trump announced ahead of his Thursday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he has directed the Defense Department to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing to maintain “common ground” with other nuclear powers. reuters,
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia had successfully test-fired its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon that Moscow claims can bypass any defense system, and the country plans to move ahead with its deployment amid the Ukraine war.
Before meeting with Xi in South Korea, Trump said on Truth Social, “Because of the testing programs of other countries, I have directed the War Department to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. This process will begin immediately.” “Russia is in second place, and China is in third place, but within 5 years it will be equal,” he said.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This was achieved through a complete update and renovation during my first term. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do this but I had no choice.”
(This is a developing story. More to come)
