Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country has successfully tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile and declared that lawmakers could revoke its ratification of a global nuclear test ban.

Video on subject, by Hindustan Times:

Russia’s Shakes West With Next-Gen Nuclear Missile Amid Putin’s Big Nuke Warning | Watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TL1nyk0Kc

“We conducted the last successful test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered global-range cruise missile,” he said without elaborating. His statement was the first announcement of a successful test of the Burevestnik, which translates as “Storm Petrel.” It was first mentioned by Putin in 2018.

Many observers have remained skeptical, arguing such a weapon could be difficult to handle and pose an environmental threat. The U.S. and the Soviet Union worked on nuclear-powered rocket engines during the Cold War, but they eventually shelved the projects, considering them too hazardous.

The Burevestnik reportedly suffered an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a Russian navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two servicemen and resulting in a brief spike in radioactivity that fueled fears in a nearby city.

Russia has reportedly used the Arctic Novaya Zemlya archipelago where the Soviet Union last tested a nuclear weapon to build facilities for testing the Burevestnik.

In the speech, Putin noted the United States has signed but not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, while Russia has signed and ratified it. He argued that Russia could “mirror the stand taken by the U.S.”

Putin’s statement comes amid widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine after the Kremlin sent troops into the country. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favor of resuming the tests.

One of them, Sergei Karaganov, a top Russian foreign affairs expert who advises Putin’s Security Council, has argued that Moscow should ramp up its nuclear threats to “break the will of the West” or even launch a limited nuclear strike on NATO allies in Europe if the West fails to stop supporting Ukraine.

“There is no situation in which anything would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state,” he said. “I think that no person of sober mind and clear memory could have an idea to use nuclear weapons against Russia.”

        • appel
          -1•1 year ago

          Russia seems to be able to keep up this war effort, whilst some NATO countries are already running out of stuff to send. They’re getting stuff manufactured cheaply in Iran, North Korea, etc. I imagine the US economy has a sizable proportion made from services. I don’t think the US tech sector can make a new app to fight the Russians with. Their cheap war materiel production does not inflate GDP like the US tech or MIC does, but that doesn’t mean it is less effective.

          • @Wooki@lemmy.world
            2•1 year ago

            “Running out” implying supplies are not connected to GDP. Well I’m sorry to burst that bubble

            • appel
              1•1 year ago

              What I’m referring to is that there is not a linear relationships between supplies and GDP. US kit has vastly inflated price compared to what Russia can produce/buy it for.

  • @treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
    26•1 year ago

    Reminds me of Project Pluto. Probably the most horrifying idea I’ve ever heard of. You can basically build a cruise missile that can flight at super low altitudes at speeds that can’t be caught. Just flying loops over the target area spewing nuclear pollution for days (or maybe indefinitely) making all land underneath radioactive. All that before it’s playload is deployed.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Little is known about the Burevestnik, which was code-named Skyfall by NATO, and many Western experts have been skeptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.

    When Putin first revealed that Russia was working on the weapon in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, he claimed it would have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe undetected by missile defense systems.

    The U.S. and the Soviet Union worked on nuclear-powered rocket engines during the Cold War, but they eventually shelved the projects, considering them too hazardous.

    The Burevestnik reportedly suffered an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a Russian navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two servicemen and resulting in a brief spike in radioactivity that fueled fears in a nearby city.

    Putin’s statement comes amid widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine after the Kremlin sent troops into the country.

    One of them, Sergei Karaganov, a top Russian foreign affairs expert who advises Putin’s Security Council, has argued that Moscow should ramp up its nuclear threats to “break the will of the West” or even launch a limited nuclear strike on NATO allies in Europe if the West fails to stop supporting Ukraine.

    The original article contains 650 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • @ZugZug@sh.itjust.works
    -2•1 year ago

    Can t wait till they yeet him from the UN like the should have done numerous before. Then maybe he will punished for all of his was carmines and with all. Fuck that that guy hard. He will be locked in a closet.

    • @freagle@lemmygrad.ml
      -3•1 year ago

      Putin isn’t in the UN, the Russian Federation is. If you put out a list of everything RF did and use it to eject RF from the UN, you’d have to eject USA first, as the list of things USA has done while in the UN is far far far worse than what RF has done.

  • @zephyreks@lemmy.mlM
    -25•1 year ago

    If America is testing theirs, Russia must do so as well.

    Did we learn nothing from the Cold War? The only winning move in this game of nuclear roulette is not to play.