Ukraine war briefing: Russia claims test of nuclear-powered missile condemned as ‘flying Chornobyl’

Vladimir Putin claimed Russia had successfully tested its Burevestnik cruise missile – said to be both powered by a nuclear engine and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It has been called a “flying Chornobyl” by arms control experts because it is powered by a nuclear reactor and, depending on the design, potentially spews out radioactive exhaust as it flies.

On the weekend, Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, told Putin the missile travelled 14,000km (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours when it was tested on 21 October. The Burevestnik has been dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by Nato. Russia has regularly threatened that the Ukraine war could go nuclear, for example if allies join Ukraine on the battlefield or provide it with long-range strike weapons as they have done.

A major nuclear accident in August 2019 killed five Russian scientists who were suspected to have been working on the Burevestnik or something similar. The incident released radiation into surrounding areas. That November, awarding posthumous decorations to the victims’ families, Putin said they had been working on an “unparalleled” weapon.

Ukrainian drones forced the closure of Moscow’s Domodedovo airport and the smaller Zhukovsky airport, Russian authorities said early on Monday. Russian defence units downed 28 drones from Sunday night into Monday morning, said the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. There was no information about damage. Russia rarely discloses the full scale of damage inflicted by Ukrainian strikes inside its territory unless civilian objects are involved. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has said that its attacks aim to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow’s war effort.

US sanctions on Russia’s oil industry had an immediate effect, writes Jill Ambrose. Within hours, there was a 6% rise in the global oil price and reports were emerging of an immediate pause of Russian oil deliveries to the biggest refineries in India, Moscow’s biggest crude customer, and to China’s biggest state-owned oil companies. Luke Wickenden, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), said: “If Moscow lost access to these markets, it could forfeit approximately $7.4bn in monthly revenue, translating to roughly $3.6bn in tax receipts per month flowing directly into the Kremlin’s war chest … If India alone were to cut its imports of Russian crude, the Kremlin could lose roughly $1.6bn in monthly tax revenues.”

Putin’s top economic envoy has attempted to blame others after US-Russia relations chilled, the US imposed sanctions and Donald Trump cancelled a foreshadowed meeting in Budapest with the Russian ruler. Kirill Dmitriev alleged there had been “titanic attempts” to thwart US-Russia dialogue as he arrived in the US to meet members of the Trump administration. Trump initially gave a glowing assessment of his most recent conversation with Putin and said they would meet in Budapest. But a few days later, as Putin showed no sign of making concessions to end the war, Trump said the meeting would be a “waste of time” and he was personally disappointed at the Russian president.