Kathrine Frich
For decades Russia has wielded propaganda as one of its most powerful weapons. The Kremlin has repeatedly blurred the line between reality and theatre.
Now, analysts say the latest chapter in that tradition has arrived. Moscow’s recent announcement of a successful test of its so-called “doomsday” nuclear torpedo, Poseidon, is being dismissed by experts as another carefully staged illusion
Propaganda at full throttle
The Kremlin claimed on October 29 that it had successfully tested the Poseidon, a nuclear-powered underwater drone said to carry a 100-megaton warhead capable of creating radioactive tsunamis.
First unveiled in 2018, the Poseidon was presented as a weapon that could bypass Western defences and devastate coastal targets.
Yet experts have long doubted its operational viability.
The project has been marred by secrecy and fatal accidents, including a 2019 explosion aboard the Losharik submersible that killed 14 sailors.
Reports from NATO and Western intelligence have repeatedly questioned whether the torpedo’s propulsion system and stealth capabilities even function as claimed.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags into its fourth year, analysts see the new claim as a calculated act of propaganda.
Analysts call it a bluff
Yuriy Boyechko, head of the humanitarian aid organisation Hope for Ukraine, told Express.co.uk that Putin’s announcement is “widely viewed as a propaganda flex aimed at global deterrence and domestic reassurance.”
Boyechko said the Kremlin’s narrative of military and technological supremacy coincided with reports of heavy losses and stalled offensives near Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.
“Independent analysts, Western governments, and Ukrainian officials have strongly disputed both claims,” he said, referring to Moscow’s claim of surrounding Ukrainian forces and the Poseidon’s alleged success.
He described the strategy as “layered deceit,” adding that the announcement is designed “to mask the costly realities of the grinding war and preempt international political pressure.”
The myth of the ‘super torpedo’
The Poseidon, also known by its code name Status-6, was conceived after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea as a deterrent against NATO.
According to the Kremlin, the weapon can travel underwater for thousands of miles undetected before detonating near enemy shores.
But Western experts point out that such a large, nuclear-powered drone would be easily trackable by sonar systems and highly unstable in practice.
“It’s not supremacy, it’s smoke and mirrors,” Boyechko said.
His remarks echo a growing consensus among defence analysts that Putin’s frequent “wonder weapon” announcements are psychological tools meant to sustain morale and intimidate foreign audiences rather than reflect genuine military advances.
The broader war narrative
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin amplified the nuclear rhetoric on October 31, warning that the West should “beg on its knees” to avoid a Poseidon or Burevestnik launch.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump responded sharply, saying: “Putin should end the Ukraine war, not test missiles.”
Boyechko warned that such “grand, yet unverified pronouncements” show how Moscow continues to rely on disinformation and theatrical military claims to maintain control.
“The timing of these announcements signals a continued dependence on illusion to justify the war’s mounting costs,” he said.
Sources: Express.co.uk, Reuters, NATO reports, Ukrainian and Western intelligence briefings.
