Putin: my nuclear bombs cannot be stopped
Russian leader stakes claim for a new term as president as he trumpets deadly new arsenal of hi-tech weapons
VLADIMIR PUTIN said Russia has tested hi-tech nuclear weapons invulnerable to US defences in a defiant speech before elections this month.
In a state-of-the-nation address to officials, Mr Putin made his most forceful declaration yet of Russia’s might. He said the country was developing a new generation of weapons able to penetrate missile defences, including a nuclear-powered missile with “unlimited range,” an underwater nuclear drone and a “practically invulnerable” hypersonic warhead that is “like a ball of fire”.
Moscow has also tested its longawaited Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile which can fly farther and carry more warheads than its predecessors, he said.
“No one wanted to speak with us. No one wanted to listen to us. Listen to us now,” Mr Putin said to enthusiastic applause.
The speech raised the spectre of a new arms race as Donald Trump has similarly promised to expand the US arsenal and issued a nuclear arms policy this month to counter Russia’s.
Responding to Mr Putin’s speech, Gavin Williamson, UK defence secretary, accused Russia of choosing the “path of escalation and provocation”. He said: “This development is another reminder to not let down our guard.”
Although he touched on economic problems, Mr Putin’s nuclear sabrerattling soon shifted attention to an assertive foreign policy popular with Russians despite Western sanctions.
He complained about the US withdrawal from the anti-ballistic missile treaty in 2002 and its development of defence installations in Romania and Poland, which Moscow had warned would upend the strategic balance.
Since its warnings had gone unheeded, Russia had new arms to ramp up its deterrent and “annul the strategic advantage” of the West, he said.
Mr Putin repeatedly paused to display videos of missile launches, explosions and flight trajectories. The clunky graphics would have been comical if not for the unsettling images of missiles heading to the US. One showed warheads raining down on Florida.
The bombast of this military muscleflexing was unprecedented for the Russian president. He even announced an online contest to choose a name for a nuclear-capable underwater drone previously known only from a piece of paper caught by a television camera during a meeting of defence officials.
“The sanctions to constrain Russia’s development, including in the military sphere … didn’t work out,” Mr Putin said. “They haven’t been able to contain Russia. They need to realise this … stop rocking the boat in which we all sit.”
The speech was seen as his vision for a next term, which he is almost certain to win. Until now Mr Putin had not campaigned and had been largely absent from the presidential race.
He promised to cut poverty in half by 2024 and called for a 50 per cent increase in GDP per capita by 2025. He said the top priority should be the wellbeing of all Russians and their families.