Pentagon: Putin’s nuclear weapons claims no surprise

WASHINGTON — Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White says the Defense Department isn’t surprised by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims of new nuclear weapons. She says the US military is prepared to defend the nation.

Putin said that Russia has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can’t be intercepted and would make NATO’s missile defense “useless.” He said the weapons include a nuclear-powered cruise missile, a nuclear-powered underwater drone and new hypersonic missile that have no equivalent elsewhere in the world.

White tells Pentagon reporters that America’s missile defense has never been about Russia.

The US has consistently argued that missile defense systems in Europe are not aimed at Moscow, but instead designed to defend against threats from Iran, North Korea, and rogue threats.

— AP