UPDATE:
EXCLUSIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin denies a “new Cold War,” but tells @megynkelly that new weapons system tests were “successful.” pic.twitter.com/d0qbB6Pbfp
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 2, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin used part of his annual state-of-the-nation address to announce Russia has developed a series of new nuclear weapons, including a cruise missile with unlimited range.
He said the creation of the new weapons has made NATO's U.S.-led missile defense "useless," and means an effective end to what he described as Western efforts to stymie Russia's development. The announcement comes as Putin is set to easily win another six-year presidential term in the March 18 election.
"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development: all what you wanted to impede with your policies have already happened," he said. "You have failed to contain Russia."
Putin said the nuclear-powered cruise missile had been successfully tested in late 2017 as he showed a video apparently of the test.
(...)
But U.S. officials say they have been following the missile’s development for some time and that, in reality, it was not operational.
The missile was still in research and development and had crashed in testing more than once, including during a test in the Russian Arctic, a U.S. official told ABC News.
Putin reportedly announced Russia's new weaponry is intended to prevent war, not provoke it.
Putin presented the weapons as lifting Russia into a new league of nuclear deterrent, putting it on a par with the United States for the foreseeable future. He stressed that the new weapons were intended to be entirely defensive, saying Russia wants “constructive relations” with the United States and the European Union, which he said Russia would always consider partners.
"I'd like to stress that Russia's growing military might does not threaten anyone, and we have never planned to use this potential for offensive, even more so aggressive purposes,” Putin said. “We are not threatening anyone, and have no intention to attack anyone or grab anything from anyone at gunpoint.
But anti-proliferation advocates are concerned.
... The International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons, which won the Noble Peace Prize last year for its work pursuing a ban on nuclear arms, condemned Putin's comments in a statement.
"Putin's statement makes it clear we are in a new arms race that will put us under the terror of a new Cold War, in constant fear of death at any instant,” Beatrice Fihn, executive director for ICBN, said in a statement. “While Russia and the US compare the size of their arsenals, the rest of the world is joining a treaty that bans them.”
Putin touts new weapons in Russia's nuclear arsenal (CBS)
US shrugs at Vladimir Putin's boast of nuclear-powered cruise missile with unlimited range (ABC News)