12:58 26-10-2025

Burevestnik Nuclear Missile: Russia’s Retaliatory Strike Weapon

Military expert Aleksey Leonkov explains how Russia’s Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile serves as a weapon of retaliation with unlimited range and precision strike capability.

Aleksey Leonkov, a military analyst, told Lenta.ru that the cruise missile fitted with a nuclear power unit — the Burevestnik — should be regarded primarily as a weapon of retaliation rather than a tool for a first strike. He framed its role as one to be employed after a nuclear exchange has already occurred, with the principal aim of wrecking whatever civilian and military infrastructure remains.

Leonkov recalled that the system was first unveiled in 2018 and only reached the testing phase seven years later, a delay he interprets as evidence the complex is now ready for serial production. He also emphasized that, while the Burevestnik is being counted as part of the nuclear triad, it possesses distinct characteristics that set it apart from other strategic systems.

According to the expert, the missile combines effectively limitless range with the ability to skirt through residual gaps in an adversary’s missile- and air-defence networks. It is intended to deliver a thermonuclear charge with precision to destroy designated targets, Leonkov said — a capability that underpins its designation as a retaliatory weapon.