Putin Says Russia Has Unmatched Nuclear Capabilities

(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia has developed nuclear capabilities with “no counterparts in the world,” stating that efforts to strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrence have continued steadily since the early 2000s.

Speaking during a video conference with Strategic Missile Forces Commander Sergey Karakayev, which focused on the successful testing of the Sarmat missile, Putin said that Russia’s military priorities had previously been different as the country went through what he described as a difficult period in its history.

He added that after the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, Russia was compelled to reassess its strategic security approach under new global conditions, with a focus on maintaining balance and parity in strategic forces.

Putin said that this shift led Russia to develop advanced weapons systems designed to overcome existing and future missile defense technologies, which he claimed have no equivalent globally.

He referenced the development of several strategic weapons, noting that work on the Avangard intercontinental-range system began in 2004 and that it has been on combat duty since 2019.

He also pointed to the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, which entered service in 2017.

According to him, it has already been used in what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, while ongoing improvements continue, including efforts to enhance its precision in non-nuclear configurations.

In addition, Putin said that the Oreshnik ground-based medium-range missile system has been on combat duty since 2025 and can also be equipped with nuclear warheads.

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