Putin says Russia has tested new nuclear-capable missile

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the missile while meeting his top military general. Picture: Russian Presidential Press Office/AP

Russia has tested a new nuclear-capable and powered cruise missile fit to confound existing defences, inching closer to deploying it in combat, President Vladimir Putin has said.

In video released by the Kremlin on Sunday, Mr Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues, could be seen meeting with senior Russian military figures.

The footage showed General Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff, telling Mr Putin that the Burevestnik missile covered 8,700 miles in a key test on Tuesday.

Gen Gerasimov said the Burevestnik, or Storm Petrel in Russian, spent 15 hours in the air, adding “that’s not the limit”.

Mr Putin then told the general: “We need to determine the possible uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying these weapons to our armed forces.”

Mr Putin also claimed the missile was invulnerable to current and future missile defences, due to its almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.

On Wednesday, Mr Putin directed drills of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches. The exercise came as his planned summit on Ukraine with US President Donald Trump was put on hold.

The Kremlin said the drills involved all parts of Moscow’s nuclear triad, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that were test-fired from launch facilities in north-western Russia and a submarine in the Barents Sea. The drills also involved Tu-95 strategic bombers firing long-range cruise missiles.

The exercise tested the skills of military command structures, the Kremlin said in a statement on Wednesday.