Putin Unveils Deadly New Toy After Trump Meeting Collapses
The Russian leader is sending a warning—to both Ukraine and Trump.
Alexander Kazakov/Via Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin is making waves after announcing that the Kremlin will deploy a tsunami-making nuclear weapon in its war with Ukraine.
Considered a “superweapon” by experts, the unmanned underwater drone named “Poseidon” was successfully tested by Russian officials, The New York Times first reported.
“There is nothing like this in the world in terms of the speed and the depth of the movement of this unmanned vehicle—and it is unlikely there ever will be,” he said. Putin added in his address to wounded soldiers that there were “no ways to intercept” the missile.

Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin during a welcoming ceremony in Alaska on August 15.
Getty Images
“Poseidon” is one of six nuclear weapons in Russia’s arsenal designed to unleash a massive, radioactive tsunami after detonating near a coastline, according to the Associated Press.
The weapon was first revealed by Putin during his 2018 state of the nation address—seemingly as leverage in disarmament talks with the United States.
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Putin’s announcement marks another break with President Donald Trump, from whom he has recently fallen out of favor. Days ago, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Putin that was set to take place in Hungary to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Publicly, Trump chalked up the blunder to “bad timing,” even as top White House officials privately acknowledged that the tone of the meeting’s arrangements had doomed the talks before they even began.
Putin reportedly refused to budge on key Russian demands, including recognition of occupied territories and a pledge of future neutrality from Ukraine. Officials described the later stages of the meeting as “a shouting match masquerading as diplomacy.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump has since tightened sanctions on Russia’s energy and financial sectors.
“I’m not gonna be wasting my time,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday during a visit to Malaysia for a separate diplomatic summit, when asked if he’d consider rescheduling the meeting with his Russian counterpart.
“I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing,” he said. “I thought this would have gone long before peace in the Middle East.”
Trump rolled out the red carpet for his Russian counterpart just two months ago for a flop summit in Alaska.

Trump rolled out the red carper for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in August.
Contributor/Getty Images
From their meeting, Trump largely came away empty-handed—aside from a puzzling Putin lecture about eliminating “all the primary root causes” of his full-scale assault on Ukraine.
The MAGA leader pledged on last year’s campaign trail that he would secure a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. It’s now been 279 days since “day one” of his second presidency—with no end to the conflict in sight.
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