Responding to Donald Trump’s boast, Russia says its missile programme beats US’ despite fatal explosion
- Five Russian scientists died in failed test that prompted US president to brag about American superiority
- Moscow cancels planned evacuation of town near offshore site where accident took place
Russia says it is far ahead of the United States in developing new nuclear-powered missiles, despite a failed test that prompted US President Donald Trump to boast of American superiority in the field.
President Vladimir Putin “has repeatedly said that Russian developments in this area surpass the level achieved by other countries, and are quite unique”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, in response to a question on Trump’s tweet.
US officials have said repeatedly in the past year that its military is working on such programmes, so Trump’s statement offers no new information, he said.
A blast in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region on Thursday killed five atomic scientists during the test of a missile engine that used “isotope power sources” on an offshore platform in the White Sea.
Trump later tweeted that the US “is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia” and added that “we have similar, though more advanced, technology”, without giving more details.