Putin Announces Burevestnik Test; Belarus to Deploy Oreshnik

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 26, 2025, announced a successful test of the nuclear‑powered cruise missile Burevestnik after years of development and earlier test mishaps that killed five nuclear scientists. The Burevestnik’s onboard reactor heats ambient air to generate thrust, giving it theoretically extreme range and long endurance with low‑altitude, terrain‑hugging flight that could complicate detection; reports cite a recent roughly 15‑hour, ~14,000 km flight, though questions remain about its speed, maneuverability and strategic utility. Separately, Belarus says it will deploy Russia’s Oreshnik intermediate‑range/hypersonic missile system in December, with preparations reportedly near completion and Minsk framing the move as a response to Western escalation. Belarus has said it will host about a dozen Oreshnik missiles; the system was showcased in recent joint Russian‑Belarusian exercises and was used by Russia in November 2024. Moscow has portrayed Oreshnik as hard to intercept and claimed even a conventional variant could produce effects comparable to a tactical nuclear strike via MIRVs, while analysts caution both weapons' battlefield impact, safety risks and ability to evade modern defenses remain debated.