On Wednesday, over tea and cakes with veterans of the Ukraine war, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia had tested a new weapon.
There is nothing like this, the Russian leader said of the Poseidon - a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable underwater drone that can be fired like a torpedo and which a senior Russian MP said could put entire states out of operation.
When it was first unveiled in 2018, Russian media said the Poseidon would be able to achieve a speed of 200km/h (120mph) and travel in a constantly changing route that would make it impossible to intercept.
Putin's claim came only days after the announcement that Moscow had conducted a test of its unlimited-range Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile.
It's a unique product, unmatched in the world, Putin said of the Burevestnik, noting the missile was so new we are yet to identify what it is, what class of weapons [it] belongs to.
It is not unusual for Russia to test and flaunt weapons. And, despite the boisterous nature of Russian announcements, their military value is ambiguous.
They are basically Armageddon weapons - too powerful to be used unless you're happy to destroy the world, Mark Galeotti, a Russia scholar and long-time observer of Russian politics.
Both the Poseidon and the Burevestnik are second-strike, retaliatory weapons, and not even the most rabid Kremlin propagandists suggest anyone is preparing to launch strikes on Russia. It is also unclear whether the weapons are actually viable.
In 2019, five Russian nuclear engineers died in a rocket engine explosion linked to the Burevestnik. Two years later, the International Institute of Strategic Studies noted Russia's considerable technical challenges in ensuring reliable performance of the missile's nuclear propulsion unit.
Neither the Poseidon nor the Burevestnik were entirely novel - both had first been presented to the world in 2018 as part of a new array of weapons Putin called invincible.
So it is the timing of the announcements - rather than their contents - which could be noteworthy. After several months of tentative diplomacy by US President Donald Trump to try and bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, Trump's interest appears to have waned.
The White House recently canceled a summit with Trump and Putin due to the vast gulf between their positions. Following the cancellation, Trump imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil producers for Moscow's failure to reach a peace deal in Ukraine.
In this context, analysts suggest Putin's announcements may be aimed at regaining attention from Trump, showcasing Russia's military strength at a time of stalled negotiations.
While Moscow's decision to promote the tests reflects its conventional military struggles, the response from the US has already been swift. Trump indicated a resumption of US nuclear weapons tests, justifying this as necessary to keep pace with nations like Russia and China.
As tensions continue, the implications of these developments on global security dynamics remain significant.
