Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon that President Vladimir Putin says it can evade any defence system. Putin said the country would now move towards deploying the missile.The test, conducted on October 21, came alongside a nuclear drill and was seen as a signal that Moscow “will never bow to pressure from the West” over the war in Ukraine. The announcement also coincides with US President Donald Trump taking a tougher stance on Russia to push for a ceasefire.Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of the armed forces, briefed Putin that the missile travelled about 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) and remained airborne for around 15 hours during the test.Russia says the 9M730 Burevestnik, also known as Storm Petrel, and designated by Nato as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, is “invincible” to current and future missile defences because of its almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.”It is a unique ware which nobody else in the world has,” Putin said, dressed in camouflage fatigues during a meeting with generals overseeing the war in Ukraine, according to remarks released by the Kremlin on Sunday.Since first unveiling the 9M730 Burevestnik in 2018, Putin has described it as Moscow’s response to the United States’ missile defence programme, which expanded after Washington’s withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2001, and to Nato’s continued enlargement.Putin said Russian specialists had once doubted the missile could ever be developed. “I was told by Russian specialists that the weapon was unlikely to ever be possible, but now, its crucial testing has been concluded,” he said.He told Gerasimov that Russia must now determine how to classify the weapon and prepare the necessary infrastructure for its deployment.The timing of the missile test — and Putin’s announcement in military fatigues at a meeting with generals directing the war in Ukraine — is being viewed as a pointed message to the West and to President Trump in particular.What is the Burevestnik cruise missileThe 9M730 Burevestnik, or Storm Petrel, is a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile first unveiled by Russia in 2018. It is claimed to have an unlimited range and the ability to take unpredictable flight paths, making it difficult to intercept. Nato has designated it as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall. Russia says the missile was developed to bypass US and Nato missile defence systems and act as a key deterrent in its strategic arsenal.
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