Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Sunday declared the final testing phase of the country’s new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, complete—touting it as a world-first weapon with “unlimited range.”
In a video released by the Kremlin during a meeting with top military officials, Putin said the “decisive tests are now complete” and ordered preparations to build the infrastructure required to deploy the missile in the Russian armed forces.
Calling the Burevestnik a “unique creation that no one else in the world possesses,” Putin claimed the weapon could strike targets “at any distance” with high precision. Russia’s military chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, said the missile flew for 15 hours and covered 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) during its latest test on October 21 — a range he said was still below its maximum capability.
The nuclear-powered cruise missile project was first unveiled by Putin in 2018, presented as part of a new generation of strategic weapons designed to bypass U.S. and NATO missile defence systems. Its revival now comes against the backdrop of Russia’s protracted offensive in Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces have been making slow but steady advances in recent weeks.
The announcement coincided with renewed diplomatic strain between Moscow and Washington. Peace talks brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump have stalled, despite his repeated vows to “quickly end the war” once back in office in January.
Frustrated by what he described as a lack of progress, Trump last week imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, saying discussions with Putin “don’t go anywhere.” On Saturday, he downplayed the likelihood of a new summit with the Russian leader, remarking that he was “not going to be wasting my time.”
Despite the tensions, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev reportedly met with Trump administration officials over the weekend for continued talks, according to a Russian source cited by AFP.
Meanwhile, the violence on the ground showed no signs of abating. An overnight Russian drone strike on Kyiv killed three people and injured dozens, the city’s mayor confirmed Sunday. Across the border, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region killed one person and wounded another, local authorities said.
Putin, for his part, dismissed any suggestion of linking military operations to political timelines, insisting that Russia’s actions would be guided solely by “military rationality.”
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