Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the testing of the 'Burevestnik' cruise missile, which has unlimited range and a nuclear power plant. This statement was made during a meeting with high-ranking military officials, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, at one of the command posts of the joint troops group. The information was confirmed by Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
A video published by the Kremlin shows Putin in military uniform reporting on the exercises of strategic offensive forces that took place this week, during which training combat launches of all three components of the strategic nuclear forces were conducted, as well as tests of new types of weapons.
Gerasimov, presenting a report, noted that during the exercises, launches of the intercontinental ballistic missiles 'Yars' and 'Sineva' were carried out, as well as two launches of the Kh-102 cruise missiles. Putin emphasized that these tests reaffirmed the reliability of Russia's nuclear potential and asked Gerasimov to provide information on the testing of the 'Burevestnik' missile.
Gerasimov reported that the tests of the 'Burevestnik' took place on October 21 and emphasized that a distinctive feature of the tests was the multi-hour flight. The missile covered 14,000 kilometers in approximately 15 hours. He added that the technical parameters of the missile allow for precise targeting of highly protected objects at any distance.
Commenting on the successful tests of the 'Burevestnik', Putin stated that it is a "unique product" with no analogs in the world. He also noted the need to develop possible methods of its application and prepare the infrastructure for integrating this weapon into the armed forces. Gerasimov confirmed that such actions would be taken.
Putin first mentioned the 'Burevestnik' in 2018 during his address to the Federal Assembly. The American analytical center Nuclear Threat Initiative reported that from 2017 to 2019, Russia conducted at least 13 tests of the missile, of which only two were partially successful. In August 2019, an explosion occurred at a testing site near Severodvinsk, resulting in the deaths of seven employees of 'Rosatom' and the Ministry of Defense, and authorities later acknowledged that the incident might have been related to a radiation source.
In October 2023, Putin announced the "last successful test" of the 'Burevestnik'. At the same time, journalists from The New York Times, analyzing satellite images, concluded that Russia might be preparing for new missile tests in the area of the Pankovo testing ground in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago or may have already conducted them. In August 2025, reports about preparations for testing the 'Burevestnik' re-emerged, as indicated by data from independent researchers examining satellite images of the testing ground in Novaya Zemlya.
