MOSCOW — Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can evade any defense system, and will move toward deploying the weapon, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, told Putin that the missile traveled 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours when it was tested on October 21.
Russia says the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) — dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO — is “invincible” to current and future missile defenses, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.
It is ground-launched, low-flying cruise missile that is not only capable of carrying a nuclear warhead but is also nuclear-powered.
Its nuclear propulsion is designed to enable it to fly much further, for longer, than traditional turbojet or turbofan engines that are limited by how much fuel they can carry. This would allow it to “loiter” for an extended period before hitting a target.
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“It is a unique ware which nobody else in the world has,” Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues at a command point meeting with generals overseeing the war in Ukraine, said in remarks released by the Kremlin on Sunday.
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Office on October 26, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while visiting one of the command posts of the Joint Group of Forces. (Russian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Putin said that he had once been told by some Russian specialists that the weapon was unlikely to ever be possible, but now, he said, its “crucial testing” had been concluded.
He told Gerasimov that Russia needed to understand how to class the weapon and prepare infrastructure for deploying the Burevestnik.
Gerasimov said that the missile had flown on nuclear power and that this test had been different because it flew for such a long distance, though the range was essentially unlimited.
The top Russian general said it could defeat any anti-missile defenses, though some Western experts say the Burevestnik’s subsonic speed would make it detectable, and it would become more vulnerable the longer it stayed in flight.
❗️Putin claims Russia has completed testing of the “Burevestnik” nuclear-powered cruise missile, allegedly capable of flying 14,000 km and bypassing all missile defense systems.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Gen. Gerasimov, also asserting Russian advances near… pic.twitter.com/FXuQ8kAKvh
— ???????? Ukraine Frontline_Daily (@ukraine_frontup) October 26, 2025
Putin on Wednesday oversaw a test of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces on land, sea and air to rehearse their readiness and command structure.
“The so-called modernity of our nuclear deterrent forces is at the highest level,” Putin said, higher than any other nuclear power.
Russia and the United States together have about 87 percent of the global inventory of nuclear weapons — enough to destroy the world many times over. Russia has 5,459 nuclear warheads while the United States has 5,177, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
“The strategic forces are capable of ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation and the Union State in full,” Putin said.
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