A new hypersonic nuclear missile that Russia says it has deployed is fueling concerns of a new arms race with the United States as the clock ticks down on the expiration of the last treaty limiting the strategic arsenals of the two former Cold War foes.
Russia's first regiment of Avangard missiles was commissioned in the Urals region of Orenberg, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday, days after President Vladimir Putin boasted that the new weapon could penetrate any defensive shield.
"Not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental-range hypersonic weapons," Putin told military chiefs. "They're trying to catch up with us."