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IPFS News Link • Weapons/Weaponry

Putin Polishes His Satellite Killer

• thedailybeast.com by Ankit Panda

You may have heard that Russian President Vladimir Putin takes an interest in exotic and impressive missile technologies. At his address to the Russian Federal Assembly last month, Putin raised eyebrows around the world by introducing a range of wacky nuclear-capable missiles, including a nuclear-powered—that's right, nuclear-powered—cruise missile.

For Putin, these weapons are a source of national pride and speak to Russia's continued great power status despite the country's increased alienation from the West and long-running economic doldrums.

That alienation has intensified in recent years in no small part due to Putin's decision to test the sinews of the post-Cold War order. Beginning with the 2008 invasion of parts of Georgia to the 2014 invasion of Crimea and amplified most recently in the poisoning of a former spy in the United Kingdom, Putin's Russia is slowly testing the limits of international norms.


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