Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a successful test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a development previously exposed in 2018 alongside five other new strategic weapons.
The previous tests of Burevestnik were plagued by failures and a fatal accident in 2019 that claimed multiple lives.
The Russian state media reported on Thursday that Putin unveiled the successful test of its new “super weapons,” the nuclear-powered global-range cruise missile at the Valdai International Discussion Club. However, he provided no details or evidence of the test.
The three other missiles in the mix of weapons are:
3M22 Zircon: An anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile with uncertain capabilities, presently in use by the Russian Navy. According to Sidharth Kaushal, a naval warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute. The Zircon missile can achieve two primary advantages and one disadvantage

Russian officials assert that the 3M22 Zircon can reach speeds of Mach 9, equivalent to about 6,900 mph, potentially surpassing the capabilities of current tactical anti-missile defenses.
Kh-47M2 Kinzhal: An air-launched ballistic missile, touted as an invincible hypersonic weapon. However, it was reportedly neutralized by Ukraine’s Patriot air defense systems provided by the United States.

RS-28 Sarmat: An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) recently introduced into service.
Additionally, there are two other weapons that are Avangard: A hypersonic glide vehicle and Poseidon: A torpedo with unique characteristics.
Here are the key points of the 9M730 Burevestnik

An analysis from The New York Times and Satellite imagery collected over a remote Russian base in the Arctic indicated earlier this week that Russia was gearing up for a cruise missile test.
“US surveillance planes have been closely monitoring the area for the past two weeks.”
According to yahoo news, Putin in 2018 described the Burevestnik as a “low-flying, stealth cruise missile with a nuclear warhead” with practically unlimited range, unpredictable flight path and the ability to bypass interception lines that is invulnerable to existing and future missile defense systems.
He added that “No one in the world has anything like it.”
Putin did not specify the date of the Burevestnik test, but as he revealed its successful launch on Thursday, it would represent the first confirmed launch since 2019.
This unique cruise missile has a history marked by difficulties.
Moscow conducted one notable test of the Burevestnik, meaning “Announcer of the Storm,” which took place at the Nyonoksa testing range on Russia’s northern coast as per Yahoo news reports.
This test lasted just over two minutes, during which the missile traveled a mere 22 miles before crashing into the sea, like other failed tests.
Also the shortest test, according to CNBC, lasted a mere four seconds with the missile covering only a few miles.
Aside from technical difficulties—reminiscent of some abandoned US efforts from decades past, which an arms control expert once described as a “technical, strategic, and environmental nightmare.”
Russia’s endeavors related to this weapon have also been tragically deadly.
Explanations from Russia presented a range of interpretations amid growing indications that Moscow may have been covering a nuclear accident.
Subsequently, more information surfaced about the specific radioactive isotopes released during the incident, leading experts to conclude that a small nuclear reactor had indeed exploded.
Then Former President Donald Trump even referred to the event as the “Skyfall explosion” in a tweet, further suggesting a connection to the Burevestnik missile.
A CNBC report, based on US intelligence later clarified that the explosion did not occur during a missile test but rather during a recovery operation. A few months afterward, a statement from a US State Department officially confirmed this.
The October 2019 report from the United States definitively stated that “the explosion near Nenoksa, Russia, resulted from a nuclear reaction that transpired during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile.”
Additionally, it disclosed that the missile had remained on the seabed of the White Sea since its failed test earlier that year.
As per the Business Insider, The report by Thomas G. DiNanno, the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Senior Bureau Official at the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, to the UN General Assembly First Committee on October 10th, emphasized that Russia bore significant responsibility for the August 2019 “‘Skyfall’ incident.”
Following the accident, Russia’s responses and explanations exhibited significant inconsistencies. There were instances of ordering evacuations in the affected area, only to cancel them shortly thereafter.
Moreover, four radiation sensor sites unexpectedly went offline, fueling suspicions of a potential cover-up. Russian officials declined to share crucial data that could have aided in determining the cause of the accident, as reported by The New York Times.
Furthermore, when treating the engineers affected by the blast, officials did not inform the attending doctors of their exposure to nuclear radiation. They even requested that hospital staff sign non-disclosure agreements, according to the Moscow Times.
Initially, Russian state media reported that the explosion resulted from a liquid propellant jet engine test, an explanation that failed to account for the observed surge in radiation levels.
By the end of August, a Russian official admitted that the accident was “linked to the development of weapons” initiated as a response to the United States’ withdrawal from the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty, as reported by The New York Times.