Russia’s Nuclear Breakthrough Confirms Dr. Youssef’s 2024 Prediction
On October 26, 2025, President Vladimir Putin announced successful tests of the world’s first “Burevestnik” missile,[i] which is powered by a nuclear engine, along with the trial of the “Poseidon” nuclear-powered unmanned underwater torpedo.[ii] This development aligns with predictions made by Dr. Mohammad Walid Youssef, head of ICGER, in his November 20, 2024, article, ‘Putin Ushers in a New Nuclear Age.’ Dr. Youssef had previously stated that “Russia will be the first to break the nuclear threshold in the twenty-first century,” despite Russia’s claims since 2017 that the United States is lowering the nuclear threshold.
Dr. Youssef observed that since 2017, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have repeatedly accused Washington of ‘lowering the nuclear threshold.’ They argue that this means the United States is supposedly endangering the world by permitting other countries, especially NATO members hosting U.S. nuclear warheads, to participate in nuclear operations.
He noted that Russian geopolitical behavior often repeats a pattern: condemning others for actions they later perform themselves, often more forcefully. For example, Russia criticized Western interventions in Libya and Syria in 2011 but later intervened more heavily in Syria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and the Central African Republic. Similarly, Russia condemned the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 but eventually invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Building on this logic, Dr. Youssef argued that Russia, rather than the U.S., would be the first to reach the nuclear threshold this century, posing strategic risks that are “far greater than those caused by the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.”
Putin has officially confirmed the completion of testing for Burevestnik and instructed the General Staff to start building the necessary infrastructure and plan its operational deployment. Additionally, he announced the successful test of the nuclear-powered Poseidon torpedo, stating that its destructive power exceeds that of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.
Soon after Putin’s announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a detailed statement on his Truth Social platform, stating: “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”[iii]
[i] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qp8ed877jo
[ii] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/putin-says-russia-tested-poseidon-nuclear-capable-super-torpedo-2025-10-29/
[iii] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-asks-pentagon-immediately-start-testing-us-nuclear-weapons-2025-10-30/