Moscow, October 27, 2025 – Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Sunday that Russia has successfully test-launched the 9M730 Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile codenamed “Skyfall” by NATO. Speaking from a military command post during an inspection of strategic forces, Putin hailed the weapon as a revolutionary advancement in global deterrence capabilities, asserting it possesses “unlimited range” and is impervious to existing or prospective missile defense systems.
“This is a truly unique system, one that no other country in the world possesses,” Putin stated, emphasizing the missile’s nuclear propulsion engine, which he claimed enables indefinite flight duration. “It is invincible,” he added, positioning the Burevestnik as a cornerstone of Russia’s modernized nuclear triad.
According to General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the latest test saw the missile travel 14,000 kilometers over 15 hours, demonstrating sustained subsonic cruise performance. The Burevestnik, approximately 12 meters in length with a reported diameter of 0.5 to 1 meter, is designed to carry a multi-megaton thermonuclear warhead and execute intercontinental strikes with high maneuverability. Its low-altitude flight profile—potentially below 50 meters—combined with evasive routing, is intended to bypass radar detection and interceptors such as the U.S. Patriot, THAAD, or Aegis systems.
The announcement revives focus on one of six “super weapons” Putin unveiled in his March 2018 state-of-the-nation address. Alongside the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), 3M22 Zircon and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, and Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle, the Burevestnik represents Russia’s push to counter perceived Western military superiority, particularly U.S. missile defense expansions in Europe and the Pacific.
Named after the storm petrel—a seabird symbolizing resilience in Russian literature—the Burevestnik relies on a compact nuclear reactor to heat air for propulsion, theoretically granting it global reach without refueling. U.S. intelligence assessments, including a 2024 Congressional Research Service report, estimate the reactor generates thrust via a ramjet cycle, allowing the missile to loiter for weeks, circle the globe multiple times, or approach targets from unpredictable vectors, including over the South Pole to avoid northern-based defenses.
However, the program’s history is fraught with setbacks. The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a Washington-based nonproliferation think tank, has documented at least 13 test attempts since 2016, with only two achieving partial success. The most catastrophic failure occurred on August 8, 2019, at the Nyonoksa naval range in northern Russia. A prototype exploded during a seabed recovery operation following a failed launch, killing five Rosatom nuclear engineers and two military personnel. Radiation levels spiked briefly in nearby Severodvinsk, prompting international monitoring stations to detect iodine-131 and other isotopes. Russian authorities initially downplayed the incident as a “liquid propulsion system” test, but later confirmed nuclear involvement.
Western critics have dubbed the missile the “Flying Chernobyl” due to its potential to disperse radioactive material along its flight path or in the event of failure. Thomas Countryman, former U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, testified before Congress in 2020 that the Burevestnik “poses more threat to Russia than to any other country” because of its inherent safety risks. “A nuclear reactor flying at low altitude over populated or allied territory—even in failure—creates unacceptable contamination hazards,” he warned.
Despite these concerns, Putin insisted the weapon is now in its “final stage” of development and will enter combat duty “in the near future.” Satellite imagery analyzed by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in 2024 identified infrastructure at a remote site near Vologda, 500 kilometers north of Moscow, consistent with Burevestnik launch preparations, including horizontal shelters and radiation-hardened bunkers.
U.S. and NATO officials expressed cautious skepticism. A Pentagon spokesperson told reporters on background that while Russia has made incremental progress, “significant technical hurdles remain, particularly in reactor miniaturization, thermal management, and command-and-control reliability over extended missions.” The U.S. Intelligence Community’s 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, declassified last month, assessed a “low to moderate” probability of operational deployment before 2028, citing persistent issues with reactor stability during high-maneuver flight.
The timing of Putin’s announcement coincides with intensified Russian military operations in Ukraine. In the early hours of October 27, Russian forces launched a wave of airstrikes on Kyiv using Kalibr cruise missiles and Shahed-136 drones. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 12 of 18 incoming threats, but fragments and direct impacts injured 26 civilians, including six children, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Three fatalities and 29 injuries were reported in Kharkiv and Dnipro oblasts from separate glide-bomb attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing the nation via video, condemned the “terror bombing” and revealed that over the past seven days, Russia had launched 1,200 one-way attack drones, 1,360 guided aerial bombs, and 50 missiles across the front line and rear areas. “Every night, our cities are under fire. Every day, our people defend freedom,” Zelensky said, renewing calls for enhanced Western air defense systems and long-range strike authorization.
The Burevestnik revelation has reignited debates over strategic stability. Arms control advocates argue it undermines the New START treaty framework—already suspended by Russia in 2023—and could accelerate a new arms race. Melissa Dalton, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, stated in a weekend briefing that Washington is “monitoring developments closely” but remains committed to “prudent, verifiable arms control that enhances mutual security.”
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte described the test as “provocative but not unexpected,” reaffirming the alliance’s unified deterrence posture. European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, issued a joint statement urging Russia to “return to compliance with its international obligations” and warning that nuclear saber-rattling “only deepens global insecurity.”
Russian state media framed the announcement as proof of technological sovereignty. Rossiya 1 television broadcast footage of Putin observing telemetry readouts, with commentators claiming the Burevestnik renders U.S. missile defenses “obsolete.” Independent Russian analysts, however, were more circumspect. Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based nuclear expert, noted on his blog that while the reported 14,000-kilometer flight is impressive, “sustained reactor operation without meltdown remains unproven in combat-relevant conditions.”
The Kremlin has not disclosed the exact test location or date, citing operational security. However, seismic and infrasound data collected by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) registered anomalous signals over the Arctic Ocean on October 22, consistent with a long-range subsonic cruise missile trajectory.
As winter approaches, Ukraine braces for escalated attacks on critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Burevestnik—once mocked in Western circles as a Cold War relic reborn—now looms as a potent symbol of Russia’s willingness to push nuclear boundaries in an era of great-power competition.
Putin concluded his remarks with a stark message: “Russia will defend its interests by any means necessary. Those who threaten us must understand—our response will be inevitable and overwhelming.”
Whether the Burevestnik heralds a new chapter in strategic deterrence or another chapter in a troubled development saga remains to be seen. For now, its shadow lengthens over an already volatile geopolitical landscape.
