On November 4, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the National Unity Day award ceremony held in the Kremlin in Moscow (Reuters)

The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Western countries are generally fearful of Moscow's new nuclear-powered cruise missile, as it can bypass the most advanced air defense and missile defense systems to strike any target on Earth.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti on Sunday: "They are afraid of what we will show them next."

She said a few days ago that Moscow was "forced" to develop and test the cruise missile called "Burevestnik" (meaning "Storm Petrel", a type of seabird).

According to TASS, she said: "The development process could be described as forced, with the aim of maintaining strategic balance." Russia "must respond to NATO's increasingly destabilizing actions in the field of missile defense."

Putin praises long-range nuclear missiles as Russia expands further in Ukraine

On Tuesday, Russian President Putin awarded the State Medal to the developers of the "Burevestnik" missile.

Also honored were the designers of the "Poseidon" underwater nuclear torpedo. Putin claimed that the "Poseidon" torpedo has successfully completed testing.

Russian officials stated that the "Poseidon" torpedo can carry nuclear weapons that trigger radioactive tsunamis, destroying large coastal areas. Russia claims that this "super torpedo" can travel at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) and zigzag to evade interception.

Putin said during a speech at the Kremlin: "In terms of range, the 'Burevestnik' missile... has already surpassed all known missile systems in the world. Like other nuclear powers, Russia is developing its nuclear potential and strategic capabilities... what we are talking about now is work we have announced long ago."

However, military and nuclear experts remain skeptical about the efficiency and destructive power of the new weapons.

It is not uncommon for Russia to showcase its arsenal while exerting pressure on Ukraine. Analysts point out that these statements by Moscow are more about intimidation than scaring critics, aiming to prevent Western countries from supporting Kyiv.

Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces program at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, said, "[Burevestnik] missile is not revolutionary."

"It has a long range and flies for a long distance, which is indeed somewhat novel, but there is no evidence to support Putin's claim that it will change everything," Podvig told Al Jazeera, "we cannot say it is invincible and can overcome anything."

A former Russian diplomat said that testing the "Burevestnik" missile in the midst of the crisis on the Ukrainian front is part of Moscow's media strategy to intimidate the West.

Boris Bondarev, who resigned from the Russian Foreign Ministry over his protest against the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, wrote in an opinion article in The Moscow Times that this missile "is not a technological breakthrough, but a product of propaganda and desperation."

"It symbolizes not strength, but weakness – the Kremlin lacks any political means of influence other than threats," he said.

Details about the 'unique' missile remain scarce

The problem is that so far, official information about the 'Burevestnik' missile is very limited. NATO refers to it as the SSC-X-9 "Skyfall" missile, which is said to be equipped with a nuclear reactor, allowing it to fly indefinitely in the air.

On October 26, Putin, dressed in camouflage, announced the successful test of the 'Burevestnik' missile, accompanied by his senior general Valery Gerasimov.

Putin said in a televised address: "This is unique, no other country in the world has it."

Gerasimov said that the 'Burevestnik' missile flew 14,000 km (8,700 miles) in a recent test, taking 15 hours. It can maneuver and circle in the air and can "ensure precision" in "any distance" to deliver nuclear warheads.

Putin concluded that "there is still a lot of work to be done before mass production" of the missile, and added that the "key objectives" of this test had been achieved.

A Ukrainian military expert scoffed at the Kremlin's claims.

Igor Romanyuk, a retired major general of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and an expert on air defense and missile defense, told Al Jazeera: "Many news reports are fake; the 'Burevestnik' missile is subsonic and can be detected and destroyed by missile defense systems."

As for the 'Poseidon' nuclear drone, experts warned that its destructive power is too great and it can only be used as a retaliatory weapon in a nuclear war. Like the 'Burevestnik' drone, due to the lack of detailed information about the 'Poseidon' drone, the Kremlin's claims are questionable.

Trump Condemns 'Inappropriate' Test

Previously, Washington canceled the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Budapest, Hungary.

Trump called the 'Burevestnik' missile test "inappropriate" and ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons and missile tests.

But before the midterm elections next year, he may try to prove how he is forcing the Kremlin to stop hostilities in Ukraine.

"Trump will have to pressure Russia," Romanyuk said, "hoping that the situation will force Trump to take action."

What Putin did not mention is that out of the dozens of tests of the 'Burevestnik' missile since 2019, only two were successful.

Western experts said that in 2019, after the 'Burevestnik' missile was launched near the White Sea in northwestern Russia, it caused a radioactive explosion, killing at least five nuclear experts. The Russian state nuclear agency acknowledged the deaths, but officials and media have not provided video clips, detailed photos, or any specific information about the 'Burevestnik' missile and its test route, making the Kremlin's latest claims difficult to verify or disprove.

Western experts identified possible deployment locations for the 'Burevestnik' missile in September. According to a Reuters report last year, the location, called Volgoda-20 or Chebsara, is located 475 km (295 miles) north of Moscow and currently has nine launch pads under construction.

The performance of the missile has sparked controversy among military analysts.

In a report released by the non-profit security organization "Nuclear Threat Initiative" after the first successful test of the 'Burevestnik' missile in 2019, it stated: "[Burevestnik] missiles will carry one or more nuclear warheads during operations, flying low around the Earth, avoiding missile defense systems and terrain, and dropping the warheads to unpredictable locations."

One year later, the U.S. Air Force National Aerospace Intelligence Center stated that if the 'Burevestnik' missile is deployed, it would provide Moscow with a "unique weapon with intercontinental range".

"The 'Burevestnik' missile has always been a mystery."

Pavel Luzin, a visiting scholar at Tufts University in Massachusetts, told Al Jazeera: "Since its initial announcement seven and a half years ago, the 'Burevestnik' missile has remained a mystery."

"It is impossible to create a compact and powerful enough reactor to ensure the flight of a cruise missile," Luzin said, "this is basic physics textbook knowledge."

Moscow claims that the 'Burevestnik' missile uses nuclear propulsion instead of the turbine jet engines or turbofan engines commonly used in cruise missiles or ballistic missiles.

However, Luzin said that the smallest nuclear reactor used to power satellites weighs one ton and provides several thousand watts of energy - roughly equivalent to the electricity used by a typical household - while also emitting about 150 kilowatts of thermal energy.

He said that experimental nuclear reactors developed in the 1950s and 1960s for aircraft weighed several tons and were as large as a train car.

He also said that the ordinary engine of a cruise missile weighs 80 kilograms and provides 4 kilowatts of power for onboard electrical and electronic equipment, and about 1 megawatt of energy for missile propulsion.

Other analysts believe that the 'Burevestnik' missile's nuclear engine can function normally, but do not consider this weapon to be a breakthrough.

Sources: Al Jazeera

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