Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded state awards to the developers of the Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon underwater torpedo, in what analysts say is the latest sign of the Kremlin’s efforts to dissuade Western countries from aiding Ukraine.
At a ceremony in the Kremlin on Tuesday, Putin claimed that the two nuclear-powered weapons are of “historical importance” for Russia and “for the entire 21st century.”
In his speech, President Putin praised the current state of Russian defense technology, saying, “In terms of flight range, Burevestnik… exceeds all known missile systems in the world.”
Putin also said Russia had begun mass production of another nuclear-capable missile, the Oleshnik. Russia used the hypersonic Oreshnik in an attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro region in November 2024. This is the first time in history that intermediate-range ballistic missiles have been used in combat.
The ceremony took place amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies and canceled a planned summit with the Russian leader in Hungary last month, dissatisfied with President Vladimir Putin’s stance on ending the war in Ukraine.
Days after President Trump’s sanctions, President Putin announced on October 26 that Russia had successfully tested the Burevestnik cruise missile. A video released by the Kremlin showed Putin, dressed in military uniform, meeting with Russia’s Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, who said the Burevestnik had flown 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers) over 15 hours.
On October 28, President Putin claimed to have successfully tested another “invincible” Russian weapon, the Poseidon, which has a range of more than 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers).
Neither weapon is new. Putin announced both weapons in 2018 and even announced a successful Burevestnik test in 2023.
But analysts say Russia is using previously announced missile technology to pose a new nuclear threat to the West, especially the United States.
“The repeated emphasis on the weapon’s long-range range and ability to penetrate all missile defense systems indicates that the intended target is the United States, and not a regional adversary that Russia could attack with much cheaper short-range systems,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report released Tuesday.
The report cited the Trump administration’s plan to build a “golden dome” missile defense system to protect the United States from foreign attack. Although President Putin did not explicitly mention Golden Dome in his Oct. 26 announcement about the Burevestnik test, he has repeatedly emphasized the missile’s ability to evade missile defenses.
“President Putin seeks to use this testing to instill fear in the United States and deter U.S. policymakers from pursuing policies that threaten Russian interests,” the CSIS report said.
The ceremony at the Kremlin comes days after President Trump ordered a resumption of U.S. nuclear weapons testing. The US president said he issued the order “for the benefit of other countries’ testing programs.”
In his speech on Tuesday, President Putin insisted that Russia was “not threatening anyone.”
“Russia, like other nuclear powers, is developing its nuclear potential and its strategic potential. Everything we are talking about now is work announced a long time ago,” he said.
