Vladimir Putin: Russia has tested a new nuclear missile
8:40 AM EDT, October 6, 2023
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia has successfully tested a new, powerful strategic missile. He also did not rule out the possibility of conducting nuclear explosion tests for the first time in over 30 years.
As reported by Reuters, Putin has for the first time announced that Moscow has successfully tested Burevestnik - a maneuvering missile with a nuclear propulsion. The Russians boast that its range is several thousand kilometers, some even talk about it being unlimited.
Vladimir Putin also said at the annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia has almost finished work on the intercontinental ballistic missile system Sarmat, another key element of the new generation of nuclear weapons.
The powers are reaching for nuclear weapons
As reported by the American station CNN on Friday, the world's largest nuclear powers, the United States, Russia, and China, have been consistently expanding their atomic testing ranges for several years; it cannot be ruled out that these countries will return to conducting tests with the use of nuclear weapons.
Military analysts argue that the resumption of nuclear testing by Russia, the United States, or both would be deeply destabilizing during a time when tensions between the two countries are greater than at any point in the last 60 years.
It should be remembered that in February 2023, the Kremlin withdrew from the Start agreement, which was the last then-effective American-Russian agreement on limiting strategic nuclear arms. In response, the Pentagon conducted exercises of its nuclear forces.
According to estimates from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) as of January 2023, Russia has 4489 active nuclear warheads, while the United States has 3708. The nuclear arsenal of these countries together comprises almost 90 percent of all global atomic missile resources. China has 410 active warheads.
The USA conducted 1032 nuclear tests between 1945-92, the USSR - 715 between 1949-90, while China - 45 between 1964-96, as CNN recalled.
