On 27 October, US President Donald Trump dismissed Russia’s recent test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, stating that Russian President Putin should be focused on ending the war in Ukraine. Trump made the remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One during a trip to Asia, according to news reports.
The President's direct public criticism links Russia's strategic weapons development to the all-out war, expressing his impatience with Putin's actions as the 3.5-year war remains deadlocked.
What Trump said
Speaking to reporters, Trump downplayed the test by highlighting US capabilities, CNN reported.
"They know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their [Russian] shore," Trump said. "So I mean, it doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles, and they’re not playing games with us, we’re not playing games with them either,"
He also added, "We test missiles all the time."
Trump then pivoted directly to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
"And I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying either, by the way." "He ought to get the war ended, a war that should have taken one week is now in its fourth year, that’s what he ought to do instead of testing missiles," the President stated.
Context of the Burevestnik test
Trump's remarks followed a Kremlin announcement on 26 October that Russia had successfully completed "decisive tests" of its 9M730 Burevestnik missile. According to a report from RFE/RL, President Putin was briefed by General Valery Gerasimov that the missile flew 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) for 15 hours.
Key facts on the missile:
- NATO Name: SSC-X-9 Skyfall
- Propulsion: A miniature nuclear reactor, which in theory gives it a nearly "unlimited range."
- Capability: It is a low-flying, nuclear-armed cruise missile designed to use an unpredictable flight path to evade all existing air defense systems.
Strategic implications
First unveiled by Putin in 2018, the Burevestnik is one of several ostensibly "invincible" next-generation weapons. The program has been plagued by past failures, leading some experts to dub it a "flying Chernobyl," as noted by Novaya Gazeta Europe, due to the high risk of a nuclear-powered engine failing and dispersing radiation.
The test is widely seen as a signal from Moscow of its nuclear resolve as the war in Ukraine continues. By dismissing the test, Trump publicly suggested Putin's focus on strategic weapons was an inappropriate distraction from the ongoing conventional war in Ukraine—a war that he stated "ought to get... ended."
- Russian envoy in US says Trump is briefed on 14,000 km-range Burevestnik nuclear missile tests
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