At a meeting between Vladimir Putin, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and commanders of the groups fighting in Ukraine, it was announced that successful tests of the cruise missile with a nuclear power unit «Burevestnik» had been conducted.
Gerasimov reported that the test was conducted on October 21. According to him, the «Burevestnik» flew for «about 15 hours» and covered 14,000 kilometers during that time. «The technical characteristics of the „Burevestnik“ generally allow it to be used with guaranteed accuracy against highly protected targets at any distance. Moreover, during the missile's flight, all specified vertical and horizontal maneuvers were performed, thereby demonstrating its high capabilities in evading missile and air defense systems», — reported the Chief of the General Staff.
Putin reminded that this is a «unique product, which no one else in the world has» and suggested «starting to prepare the infrastructure for deploying this weapon in our Armed Forces».
Putin first spoke about the development of the «Burevestnik» in 2018. In August 2019, an explosion occurred at a missile range in Nyonoksa, Arkhangelsk region, resulting in the deaths of seven employees of Rosatom and the Russian Ministry of Defense. An increased radiation background was observed in the region.
According to data from American intelligence, cited by the analytical center Nuclear Threat Initiative, from 2017 to 2019, Russia conducted at least 13 tests of this missile, of which only two ended in partial success.