International analysts warn that the advance could reactivate the arms race and further strain the global military balance.
The president Vladimir Putin assured that Russia successfully carried out the test of a nuclear powered cruise missilea technology that – according to him – no other country possesses. The announcement, made during a visit to a military command post, was read as a new demonstration of power against the West.
According to the Kremlin, the missile, called Burevestnik (SSC-X-9 Skyfall in the NATO classification), remained in flight for 15 hours and toured 14,000 kilometers thanks to its nuclear energy source. Unlike conventional missiles, this system could stay in the air indefinitely and evade defense radarsa factor that worries international analysts due to its destabilizing potential.
“It is a unique product that no one in the world owns.“Putin said before the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimovwhom he ordered to begin preparations to integrate the weapon into the national arsenal. The president, dressed in a military uniform, also highlighted that the country “confirmed once again the reliability of its nuclear shield” after carrying out test launches of the missiles. Yars, Sineva and Kh-102.
A sign of power and tension towards the West
The test comes weeks after Washington lifted restrictions for Ukraine uses long-range Western weapons against Russian targets, adding tension to a relationship already marked by mutual distrust. In this framework, experts interpret the announcement as a political and symbolic response both towards the administration of donald trump as towards NATO.
He Burevestnik is not new: its development began in the early 2000s, after the United States left the Antiballistic Missile Treaty 1972. But its alleged fine-tuning marks a turning point. For Jeffrey Lewisa nuclear nonproliferation specialist at Middlebury College, is “a little flying Chernobyl“because of the environmental risks involved in transporting a nuclear reactor on a projectile. “It is a science fiction technology that could destabilize any attempt at arms control,” he warned.
Other analysts agreed that the announcement also points to put pressure on the negotiation of the New START treatythe latest agreement in force between Moscow and Washington that limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons deployed. That pact expires in February, and Putin has already proposed extending it for a year “if the United States agrees to do the same.”
In parallel, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskovwarned that any long-range attack against Russian territory would receive an “astonishing” response. Behind the rhetoric, Moscow seeks to show that it maintains its military capacity intact despite the economic impact of the war.
Source: Ambito
