This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, a satellite image released by Planet Labs showed the Serebryanka, a ship that carries nuclear fuel and waste, offshore from the Nenoksa Missile Test Site. This has led some to speculate that the vessel may be related to the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute, pointed out that the Serebryanka was also seen at another test of the 9M730 Burevestnick. He noted that other facilities examined by his experts seemed to show testing facilities consistent with those previously shown in Russian reports on past tests.
Mr. Lewis also suggested that the string of suspected failures in tests of the missile's propulsion system may indicate that Russia is having trouble getting the reactor to light and create the heat to fuel the missile. He stated, “we think they are having troubles getting the reactor to light” and create the heat to fuel the missile.
On August 8, 2019, Mr. Putin complained in a speech, “Nobody wanted to talk to us,” Mr. Putin complained in the speech. “Now listen to us.” He and others have talked about Russia’s plans for the “Poseidon” in a nod to the Doomsday Machine parodied in the 1964 classic “Dr. Strangelove,” which could hit the West Coast even if Moscow and Russia’s military centers were already destroyed in a nuclear strike.
