Putin stated that together the weapons provided Russia with a strategic capability that was impossible for America to intercept, restoring Russia's nuclear deterrence capability in the face of American technological developments following America's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.[3]
Purported remnant of a Kinzhal warhead displayed in Ukraine in May 2023[4]
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile started test operations in December 2017 and has been deployed since 2018.[5]
On 27 December 2019, TASS reported that the first missile regiment armed with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle officially entered combat duty.[6]
As of 2020[update], the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered missile was still under development. The Nyonoksa radiation accident appears to have been caused by an accident while testing a prototype.[7]
TASS reported that the first contract for producing the RS-28 Sarmat missiles was signed in August 2022.[8]
On 16 January 2023, TASS reported that the first batch of the Poseidon nuclear-powered UUVs had been manufactured.[9]
In 2023, it was claimed that a Kinzhal missile had been shot down by the Ukrainian air defense forces using a MIM-104 Patriot missile defence system.[10][11][12] On 10 May 2023, the Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko showed fragments of the alleged downed Kinzhal missile for Bild journalists in Kyiv.[13] In contradiction to Ukrainian claims, Russian media reported that the fragments closely resembled the concrete-piercing BETAB-500ShP aerial bomb.[14][15] On 16 May 2023, Ukraine's air command claimed to have intercepted all six Kinzhal missiles that had been launched during a Russian attack.[16]
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