Putin’s 'doomsday' submarine capable of producing radioactive tsunamis launches for first time

Putin’s doomsday submarine capable of producing radioactive tsunamis launches for first time

ETH

Russia’s newest nuclear submarine, built to carry the Poseidon “doomsday” torpedo capable of triggering radioactive tsunamis, has put to sea for the first time.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the Kremlin quietly dispatched the 10,000-ton Khabarovsk on sea trials in the White Sea last week with no public ceremony. The vessel is designed to carry as many as six Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedoes in addition to conventional anti-ship and land-attack missiles.

Poseidon is described as having a range exceeding 6,000 miles and the ability to operate at depths of 3,280 feet. Analysts say an underwater nuclear detonation from the weapon could, in theory, generate a massive radioactive surge that would drive tsunami-like waves far inland, threatening coastal cities with both flooding and long-term contamination.

The launch comes amid heightened rhetoric from Russian state media. Kremlin-aligned commentators have urged President Vladimir Putin to use Poseidon against Britain in response to London’s supply of drones that have struck Russian territory. State television presenter Vladimir Solovyov declared: “Give the British three days to learn to breathe underwater, then hit them with Poseidon.”

Putin himself confirmed an earlier Poseidon test this year, stating that Russia launched the weapon from a submarine and then activated its onboard nuclear reactor. Last year he told military officials: “There is nothing like this.

There is no way to intercept it.” Former president Dmitry Medvedev has called Poseidon a genuine “doomsday weapon.” Russian commentators have even suggested it could “drown Britain,” though Western analysts describe such claims as exaggerated while acknowledging the system was built to instill fear.

The Khabarovsk, reportedly costing £1 billion, was developed after the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said the “heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Khabarovsk is being launched from the renowned Sevmash shipyard” and would carry “underwater weapons and robotic systems” to secure Russia’s maritime borders.

Experts caution that a continent-scale radioactive tsunami remains scientifically uncertain, yet that uncertainty itself serves as a strategic tool. Dr Richard Connolly of the Royal United Services Institute called Poseidon “a boutique capability” designed for “the very worst of scenarios.” He added that any actual use against Britain would trigger retaliation from the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent: “So they wouldn’t do it, because they know they’d pay a price.”

Even a limited strike, however, could devastate harbors, contaminate coastlines, and leave land toxic for years. The quiet departure of the Khabarovsk into the White Sea has therefore sharpened attention on a weapon whose mere existence is intended to alter calculations in any future confrontation.