Russia poised for Arctic nuclear-powered cruise missile test within days — The Barents Observer

August 8, 2025
Source: The Barents Observer

Russia appears poised to test its Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile at Novaya Zemlya within days, according to The Barents Observer. Airspace has been closed in a 500-kilometer (310-mile) corridor along the Arctic archipelago’s west coast from August 7 to 12. At least four vessels moved from anchorage off Pankovo to observation posts in the eastern Barents Sea, and two Rosatom aircraft are now based at the Rogachevo air base. On Tuesday, a U.S. WC-135R Constant Phoenix “nuclear sniffer” flew over the Barents Sea to sample the air for isotopes.

The Burevestnik — NATO codename Skyfall — has been tested at Novaya Zemlya since at least 2017, with the site substantially expanded over the last three years. Novaya Zemlya has served as Rosatom’s closed testing ground for nuclear weapons and related technologies since the late 1950s. Norwegian intelligence officials have warned that Russian missile and torpedo testing is likely to continue and carries risks of accidents and local radioactive emissions. Norway’s Finnmark region is about 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the Pankovo site.

In August 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump reported that Russia had witnessed a “failed missile explosion” after Rosatom likely conducted a Burevestnik test. Officially, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported an explosion of a liquid rocket engine system. Officials stated that the blast killed two people and injured six. According to unofficial reports, at least six victims were diagnosed with radiation exposure. Local authorities in Severodvinsk reported a radiation spike several hours after the explosion, but then deleted the message. According to a later U.S. intelligence assessment, the explosion might have occurred during an attempt to retrieve a missile from the sea — one that had fallen during a previous failed test.