Russia, the aggressor country, is likely preparing to test a new nuclear-armed cruise missile despite a planned meeting this week between kremlin leader vladimir putin and US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported, citing two American researchers, a Western security source and the Norwegian military.
Researchers Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Decker Eveleth of the CNA think tank came to this conclusion after studying satellite images taken in recent weeks by Planet Labs.
According to them, the images show significant activity at the Pankovo test site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Barents Sea. Among the signs is an increase in the number of personnel, equipment, ships and aircraft associated with previous tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) missile.
Lewis suggested the test could take place as early as this week and was likely planned before the putin-Trump meeting was announced.
A Western security source confirmed to Reuters that moscow was preparing to test the Burevestnik. The Norwegian military also said the Barents Sea was a "major location for Russian missile testing" and that it had detected signs of "preparation for test activity" in reports and maritime warnings.
According to Lewis, Eveleth and two other arms control experts, the missile's development has taken on greater importance for moscow since Trump announced the creation of the US Golden Dome missile defense program in January.
Putin has previously said the weapon, known to NATO as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, is "invincible" to current and future missile defense systems, with a nearly unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.
According to Reuters, the Burevestnik demonstrated poor test results: out of 13 known tests, only two were partially successful.
Recall that Trump threatened russia with serious consequences if negotiations with putin failed.
Meanwhile, Belarus and the russian federation plan to practice the use of nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik complex at the Zapad 2025 exercises.
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