Russia Has Tested a New Nuclear-Powered Missile, Putin Brags

Russia tested a new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile that could confound existing defenses, inching closer to deploying it to its military, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks released recently, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Burevestnik reportedly caused an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two service members and producing a brief spike in radioactivity that alarmed a nearby city. (Photo: Missile Threat - CSIS) 

The announcement, which followed years of tests of the Burevestnik missile, is part of nuclear messaging from the Kremlin, which has resisted Western pressure for a truce in Ukraine and warned the U.S. and other NATO allies against sanctioning strikes deep inside Russia with Western weapons.

A video released by the Kremlin showed Putin receiving a report from Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of the general staff, who said the Burevestnik covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) in a recent test.

Gerasimov said the Burevestnik — “storm petrel” in Russian — spent 15 hours in the air on nuclear power.

Little is known about the Burevestnik, which NATO code-named Skyfall, and many Western experts have been skeptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.

When Putin first revealed Russia was working on the weapon in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, he claimed it would have an unlimited range.

The Burevestnik reportedly caused an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two service members and producing a brief spike in radioactivity that alarmed a nearby city.

Russian officials never identified the weapon involved, but the U.S. said it was the Burevestnik.

“We need to determine the possible uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying these weapons to our armed forces,” Putin told Gerasimov. The Russian leader also claimed it was invulnerable to current and future missile defenses because of its almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.