Political analyst Serhii Taran shared his opinions on Espreso TV.“I think nuclear tests are more for Europe than for Trump. Because if Putin now provokes Trump into an arms race, Russia will lose that arms race much faster than we imagine. Russia simply does not have anywhere near the technical and financial capabilities of the United States. Moreover, I think one of the ways Trump could strategically pressure Putin is to push him into an arms race that would exhaust the Russian economy,” he explained.The analyst noted that during the Cold War, the arms race was a decisive factor in pressuring the Soviet Union.“The Soviet Union could not withstand competition with the West. And we know how that ended. And Trump is now beginning to repeat this Cold War experience from time to time. He mentions low oil prices, which contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the arms race. For Trump, in principle, such an arms race would even be very convenient politically, since congressional elections have effectively already started in the United States. The elections are a year away, but preparations have begun, and now it’s time to think about what to say to voters,” Taran said.He emphasized that Trump has little to speak about.“He cannot claim to have ended the war in Ukraine. And the mood of American voters, including Republicans — which is a significant change over the past year — is that most Republicans believe Trump should support Ukraine and pressure Russia,” the analyst noted.In his view, an arms race would benefit Trump, even politically.“At one point, he even said that we want to create a kind of missile defense, which he called the 'golden dome', to protect against any missiles. Which missiles did he mean? Clearly, he meant Russian missiles, because they are the most numerous and the longest-range. So in reality, this test of nerves by Trump will end very badly for Putin,” Taran said.The analyst believes nuclear tests are still a one-off action.“They are designed to pressure Europe. It’s a desperate step because Putin has little to show the world as leverage, so this is what he displays. Propagandists constantly talk about his nuclear weapons and that he could use them if necessary,” he noted.According to Taran, in terms of the U.S., this is a risky game.“I would even like Putin to have the illusion that he can scare the United States with nuclear weapons, because it would provoke a response from Trump, which would be very bad for the Russian economy. Moreover, in the West, particularly in the U.S., Russia would then be seen not just as a threat to Europe or Ukraine, which are distant, but as a threat to the U.S. itself. Then U.S. policy and commitment to pressure Russia would be much stronger because it would be a matter of American security, just like during the Cold War. So Trump can, of course, observe these tests in Russia, but if he responds, I think it will end very badly for Putin,” the analyst concluded.