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President Vladimir Putin said early Sunday that Russia has successfully carried out a test of its nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile Burevestnik.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin the test took place on Tuesday, with the missile flying 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) over the course of about 15 hours.
“The technical characteristics of the Burevestnik allow it to be used with guaranteed precision against highly protected sites located at any distance,” he said.
“It is truly a unique weapon, one that no other country in the world possesses,” Putin said during a visit to one of the command centers of the Russian joint group of forces.
He ordered the preparation of “infrastructure to put this weapon into service in the Russian armed forces.”
Confirmation of the Burevestnik tests follows satellite imagery and navigation warnings in recent months indicating an impending launch.
Putin has boasted that the “invincible” Burevestnik has an almost unlimited range and can evade American missile defenses when he unveiled it in 2018.
The Burevestnik, part of Russia's advanced weapons program which NATO designates as SSC-X-9 Skyfall, made headlines in 2019 after a failed test led to a deadly recovery mission in the Arctic.
The announcement of a successful final test comes as Russian forces slowly but steadily gain ground in Ukraine, grinding through Kyiv's defenses in costly battles.
Peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv have stalled, despite mediation efforts from U.S, President Donald Trump, who had promised to quickly end the war upon his return to the White House in January.
Trump slapped sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies on Wednesday, complaining that his talks with Putin to end the Ukraine war “don't go anywhere.”
Putin, for his part, said on Sunday that he did not want to set a timetable for an end to the fighting.
“We are not going to align anything with any dates or events... we will base our actions on military rationality,” he said.
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