Putin announced successful tests of the "unparalleled" Burevestnik nuclear missile

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has said that Russia's nuclear forces are "at the highest level in the world" and boasted of tests of the Burevestnik missile - in his words, a unique weapon that has no analogues. He said this at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and group commanders, according to RosSMI.

Gerasimov reported that tests of the nuclear-powered cruise missile took place on 21 October. According to him, the Burevestnik travelled 14,000 kilometres and was in the air for about 15 hours. The missile has shown the ability to bypass missile defence systems, and its technical characteristics allegedly allow it to hit highly protected objects at any distance with guaranteed accuracy.

This is a unique product that no one else in the world has," Putin emphasised, adding that the tests have been completed and the key objectives have been achieved.

He also said it was necessary to identify ways to use the missile and prepare infrastructure for its deployment in the troops.

"Burevestnik" has attracted the attention of experts both for its capabilities and its past: an inbuilt nuclear reactor allows the missile to theoretically stay in the air for days, bypass missile defences and drop a warhead in hard-to-predict locations.

According to the US NGO Nuclear Threat Initiative, this technology makes the Burevestnik potentially capable of circling the globe at low altitude and carrying nuclear weapons, making it one of the most discussed strategic weapons.