Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 10 that Russia is “very actively” developing and testing new nuclear weapons and that Moscow may soon make a formal announcement about the progress of its latest strategic systems.
Speaking to reporters after a summit in Tajikistan, Putin said the development of new weapons was proceeding successfully and that Russia’s nuclear deterrent capabilities are now more advanced than those of any other nuclear power.
“I believe that we will have an opportunity to report about the new weapons that we announced a while ago,” Putin said, according to Russian state media Tass.
“These weapons are being developed and undergoing tests. The tests are proceeding successfully.
“The novelty of our nuclear deterrence capabilities is higher than in any other nuclear-weapon state—and we are actively developing it all. We are developing what I mentioned earlier, in previous years—we are working to finalize it.”
The remarks follow Moscow’s recent offer to voluntarily maintain the warhead limits set by the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) if the United States does the same. The treaty, signed in 2010 and extended by five years in 2021, is the last remaining major arms-control accord between Washington and Moscow. It limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed long-range missiles and bombers.
Hellbound and Down 