Russia ‘tried and failed’ to test nuclear torpedo

Russia likely tried and failed to test a new nuclear-powered torpedo from one of its submarines in recent weeks, according to a senior US source.

Several Russian naval vessels - including the Belgorod, a cruise missile submarine - were recently seen leaving testing areas in the Arctic and heading back to base without conducting any sorts of exercises, the official told CNN on Thursday.

Washington reportedly believes that the vessel may have run into technical problems. The US official, who remains nameless, said Moscow now has a limited window for operations to test the torpedo, as the waters in the area will soon begin to freeze.

“This can be seen as part of the bigger picture and Russia’s recent military practice, sending ill-trained and under-equipped troops to Ukraine,” an unnamed Western diplomat told CNN.

The Belgorod, one of Russia’s most modern vessels and the longest submarine in the ocean right now, is equipped to carry the state-of-the-art Poseidon torpedo, a nuclear-powered underwater drone that can carry both conventional and nuclear munitions.

Western governments have been alarmed by recent veiled threats by Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials indicating Moscow could resort to nuclear weapons if it faces an “existential threat”.

The Russian president, however, insisted as recently as last month that he has no need for using nuclear weapons as “there is no point in that, either political or military”.

Western officials have said they do not see an immediate nuclear threat from Russia, as their intelligence communities have not detected any signs of its military gearing up for a nuclear strike.

Putin first revealed the development of the Poseidon during a state of the nation address in 2018, calling it a “unique” weapon. 

One of Russia's most notorious television propagandists this spring warned that Russia could wipe Britain off the map with a nuclear tsunami caused by a Poseidon strike that can set off a 500-metre tidal wave of radioactive seawater.

Earlier this week, the White House said the US and Russia  agreed to hold new talks to extend a nuclear weapons treaty for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the only remaining document limiting the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, was extended by five years during the first weeks of Joe Biden’s US presidency in 2021, but it is due to expire in 2026.

The treaty allows both countries to send in their inspectors to the countries’ nuclear weapons-related facilities.

The inspections under the previous treaty were suspended in 2020 due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and have not resumed, something that the parties are expected to discuss as well.

Earlier this week Ned Price, the US State Department spokesman, said officials from the two countries would meet “in the near future” for confidential discussions.

Concerns about a nuclear accident first surfaced in the spring, when Russian shelled the area around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and then seized it.

The international community has pleaded with Putin to remove troops and weapons from the site but he defended the decision by voicing security concerns for his troops.

On Thursday, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, which has repeatedly called on Russia to relinquish control over the plant, lamented that efforts to get Moscow and Kyiv to establish a security perimeter around the plant were “very complicated”.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, began shuttle diplomacy last month, travelling between Moscow and Kyiv in search for a solution.

“It’s taking awfully long and I’m first to be impatient but I cannot afford to lose patience,” Mr Grossi told AFP on Thursday. “I’m trying to bring these two countries to accept the concept of protecting this nuclear power plant.”

Mr Grossi, along with other officials, has warned that shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and the presence of troops and weapons on the grounds could lead to a nuclear disaster at Europe’s largest nuclear plant.