Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration - The Guardian

Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic nuclear-capable weapons that would be able to outmanoeuvre US defences, in a possible signal of a new arms race between Moscow and the west.

Speaking in a nationally televised address to the country’s political elite weeks before the presidential election, Putin showed video and animations of ICBMs, nuclear-powered cruise missiles, underwater drones and other weapons that he said Russia had developed as a result of the US pulling out of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty signed with the Soviet Union.

“You didn’t listen to our country then,” Putin said during the speech on Thursday. “Listen to us now.” Some of the weapons were already being tested, he added.

The existence of several of the weapons systems – like the RS-28 Sarmat, or Satan 2, nuclear missile – were well-known and their tests had been previously reported. What was new was Putin’s portrayal of Russia’s modernising arsenal as an adversarial response to US policy since 2001. 

The speech came in the same month that the Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy, which followed a promise by the US president, Donald Trump, to develop an arsenal “so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression”. The policy envisioned low-yield nuclear weapons on submarine-launched ballistic missiles that could match similar Russian weapons.

Putin’s message was one of defiance. “I would like to tell those who have been trying to escalate the arms race for the past 15 years, to gain unilateral advantages over Russia, and to impose restrictions and sanctions … The attempt at curbing Russia has failed,” he said.

His remarks came during a state of the union speech heavy with economic promises for the Russian people and sabre-rattling against the US. It was widely viewed as his first campaign speech for Russia’s presidential elections on 18 March. The Kremlin is primarily concerned with boosting turnout, as Putin is expected to cruise to a fourth term as president.

Putin highlighted a test of Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat missile. According to state media, the intercontinental ballistic missile is able to fly 6,800 miles with a payload of 15 warheads, though the actual capabilities of the missile have not been shown. The Russian defence ministry said it had conducted a successful test launch in October, during which the missile had travelled 3,600 miles before hitting a target area in Russia’s far east.

Putin also said Russia had developed a working laser weapon, a hypersonic missile and a cruise missile powered by a nuclear reactor that could fly indefinitely. - Read More

Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration 

Vladimir Putin | World | The Guardian