President Donald Trump issued a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday after the Kremlin leader bragged about testing what he called an �invincible� nuclear-powered missile capable of striking the United States.

�They know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shore,� Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he departed for Japan. �They�re not playing games with us. We�re not playing games with them either.�

The warning came just 24 hours after Putin publicly celebrated the long-range test of the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile the Russian military claims can fly 8,700 miles and evade Western missile defenses. Russian state television hailed the 15-hour test flight as a breakthrough, with Putin�dressed in military fatigues�calling the weapon �a unique product, unlike anything else in the world.�

�We need to identify potential uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon in our armed forces,� Putin said Sunday, describing the Burevestnik�known to NATO as SSC-X-9 Skyfall�as a �new phase� in nuclear deterrence.

Trump, who dismissed Moscow�s boasts as theatrical saber-rattling, pointedly reminded reporters that the United States maintains a far more advanced nuclear arsenal.

�We test missiles all the time,� he said. �But you know, we do have a submarine, a nuclear submarine. We don�t need to go 8,000 miles.�

The Burevestnik missile, powered by a miniature nuclear reactor, has been nicknamed the �flying Chernobyl� for its potential radiation risks. Russian military officials claim it could theoretically remain airborne for days and reach targets anywhere on Earth�a capability Western analysts have long doubted.

�It is a tiny flying Chernobyl,� said Russian General Valery Gerasimov, in a televised briefing following the flight test. The Kremlin claims the weapon�s nuclear propulsion system gives it unlimited range, allowing it to bypass American missile shields.

But arms-control experts say the missile is more fantasy than fact. �This is one more science fiction weapon that is going to be destabilizing and hard to address in arms control,� said Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at Middlebury College.

�The technology behind a nuclear-powered cruise missile is extraordinarily dangerous and unpredictable,� Lewis added. �If it works at all, it�s an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.�

The Burevestnik program has been plagued by failures and accidents for years, including a 2019 explosion at a test site in northern Russia that killed at least five nuclear scientists and briefly spiked radiation levels in surrounding areas.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)