Russia has tested a new nuclear-capable missile, Putin and top general say

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) — Russia tested a new nuclear-capable and powered cruise missile fit to confound existing defenses, inching closer to deploying it to its military, President Vladimir Putin claimed in remarks released on Sunday.

Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues, could be seen meeting with senior Russian military figures, according to a video released by the Kremlin. The footage showed Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff, telling the Russian leader that the Burevestnik covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) in a key test Tuesday.

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

“We need to determine the possible uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying these weapons to our armed forces,” Putin told Gerasimov in the video and instructed him to work on the missile’s final tests. Putin also claimed it was invulnerable to current and future missile defenses, due to its almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.

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

The Kremlin said that the maneuvers involved all parts of Moscow’s nuclear triad, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that were test-fired from launch facilities in northwestern 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.