The lessons of the Cold War still apply to the new nuclear age

Serhii Plokhy is the author of “The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power, and Survival.”

In Moscow last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a successful test of “Burevestnik,” a nuclear-powered cruise missile. He also announced the equally successful testing of the nuclear-powered drone “Poseidon.” President Donald Trump responded by announcing the resumption of U.S. nuclear testing. There is considerable uncertainty about whether Putin’s nuclear-powered weapons actually work — and about what Trump’s announcement truly means. One thing, however, is quite clear: The nuclear arms race, nuclear blackmail and nuclear brinkmanship are all back in a way not seen since the end of the Cold War — or, more precisely, since the late 1950s and early 1960s.