🚀💥🇷🇺 Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile: Russia’s absolute deterrence trump card

A test has demonstrated the missile’s ability to evade enemy missile defense systems, Chief of General Staff Gerasimov has told President Putin.

Here’s what makes Burevestnik a strategic gamechanger.

Nuclear powered

The defining feature of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Russian ‘Storm petrel’, NATO reporting name SSC-X-9 Skyfall) is its nuclear propulsion system. Its small onboard nuclear reactor gives it effectively an unlimited range.

Unlimited range means:

🟠 Сapability to loiter in the air for days on end

🟠 Ability to circumnavigate the entire globe, if necessary, to reach its target

🟠 Capacity to evade concentrated defenses, and strike from unexpected attack vectors

Stealth

🟠 Since it’s a cruise missile, the Burevestnik can hug the ground on approach at altitudes below enemy radar’s ability to detect, making interception challenging if not impossible.

🟠 That’s because no traditional ballistic flight trajectory and no range limits means there’s no point where defenses can be deployed en masse to stop it.

Strategic response

🟠 First unveiled by Putin in 2018, the Burevestnik’s development began in the early 2000s in reaction to the US pullout from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and Pentagon efforts to ring Russia with missile defense systems (Aegis, Aegis Ashore, including in Poland and Romania).

🟠 The Burevestnik and other groundbreaking strategic Russian systems like it (Avangard HGV, Zircon naval hypersonic missile, Kinzhal air-launched missile, Poseidon unmanned submarine, Sarmat heavy ICBM) guarantee Russia’s ability to respond to aggression, even in an enemy decapitation strike scenario.

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China–US trade talks: Two clinch consensus, but hold their lines

💬 “The US side took a firm stance while China resolutely defended its interests,” Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang underscored.

He noted that the Chinese and American delegations discussed a wide range of issues, including export controls, fentanyl tariffs, cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking, extension of mutual suspension of additional tariffs, and further trade expansion.

💬 “After more than a day of intense talks, China and the US constructively considered several solutions that properly address both sides’ concerns on the abovementioned issues and reached a preliminary consensus,” Li stressed, adding that the next step would be the sides carrying out internal approval procedures.

The trade talks between China and the US were held on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 25–26.

The Chinese and US delegations were led by VP He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, respectively.

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🚨🇷🇺 Сalls for ceasefire in Ukraine aim to buy Zelensky time – Lavrov

💬 "When people now say, ceasefire, we know that they want just to buy some time again. And that this logic, which is deeply rooted in Zelensky, whatever moves his head, brain, is obvious for any objective observer," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Ultrahang YouTube channel.

Other statements by Lavrov:

🟠 The topic of new negotiations or meetings has not been raised since the phone conversation with Rubio on October 20

🟠 Russia is ready to continue contacts with the United States at a pace comfortable for the Americans

🟠 The issue of territories within the framework of the Ukrainian settlement is being discussed in various formats

🟠 Russia undoubtedly recognizes Ukraine’s independence, but residents of the regions that joined Russia were subjected to shocking discrimination by Kiev

🟠 The Russian side does not believe it is violating the Budapest Memorandum in any way

💬 “It states that Ukraine, like other former Soviet republics that gave up nuclear weapons, would receive the same guarantees that nuclear powers provide to non-nuclear states. That’s all. These guarantees mean that nuclear weapons will not be used against non-nuclear countries that are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”

Lavrov recalled that, in parallel with the Budapest Memorandum, the same parties signed a declaration outlining their commitment to uphold OSCE principles, including the rights of national minorities, democracy, and freedom of speech.

💬 “All these obligations, which were reflected in OSCE documents and reaffirmed as part of the adoption of the Budapest Memorandum, were grossly violated by the Kiev regime,” he said.

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🇮🇷🇷🇺🇨🇳 The new Big Three: Iran touts wisdom of aligning with Russia and China

💬 “In recent days, we’ve witnessed one of the significant and influential achievements in the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf announced Sunday.

Highlighting last week’s joint Iranian-Russian-Chinese appeal to the UN Security Council on the illegality of snapback sanctions, Qalibaf described it as “a symbol of strategic solidarity among the three great powers, which have clearly declared that the efforts of three European countries to activate the so-called snapback mechanism are fundamentally devoid of legal validity.”

That means the matter is effectively closed, and Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment ensured, as far as the Security Council is concerned, Qalibaf said.

A second letter, sent by Iran, Russia and China to IAEA chief Grossi on Saturday, informed him that his mandate on the verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities has come to an end.

💬 “These two joint letters are not only a legal victory for Iran, but also a testament to the shifting balance of global power,” Qalibaf stressed, pointing to the support for Iran of not only Russia and China, but the entire 121-nation Non-Aligned Movement, which has also backed Iran on the nuclear issue.

Together, they “stood against the unlawful imposition of will and coercion by the United States and a few European countries on the rest of the world – an act that will undoubtedly play a role in diminishing the impact of sanctions against Iran,” the speaker said.

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🚨🪖🇺🇸 Bessent: 'By November 15th, our troops ... aren't going to be able to get paid' because of Democrat-led shutdown

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🇮🇱🇺🇳 IDF targets UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon — UNIFIL statement

At around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, an Israeli drone approached a UNIFIL patrol near the town of Kfarkela and dropped a bomb. Moments later, an Israeli tank fired toward the peacekeepers. Fortunately, there were no casualties or damage to UNIFIL personnel or equipment.

The incident followed an earlier one at the same location, where an Israeli drone flew aggressively over a UNIFIL patrol, prompting the peacekeepers to take defensive measures to isolate it.

UNIFIL said these actions by the Israeli army constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and demonstrate disregard for the safety and security of peacekeepers carrying out their UN mandate in southern Lebanon.

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✈️ Shutdown hits US airports with air traffic controller shortages — reports

US airports reported more than 20 controller shortage “triggers” on Saturday—one of the highest levels since 1 October—and by noon Sunday, shortfalls were recorded at six airports.

💬 “The controllers are wearing thin,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. A ground stop was issued at Los Angeles International Airport, while staffing issues also affected Chicago and Newark.

About 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay as the shutdown continues, with more than 5,000 flight delays on Saturday. Union officials warned that each day of shutdown “peels away another layer of safety.”

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🌪 Hurricane Melissa could strike Jamaica as an upper-end Category 4 on Tuesday — reports

Jamaica is bracing for a direct hit from Hurricane Melissa, which forecasters expect to reach near 155 mph at landfall, according to The New York Times, citing the National Hurricane Center.

If the forecast holds, Melissa would be one of the strongest storms in decades, rivaling Hurricane Gilbert (1988) — Jamaica’s only previous Category 4 landfall, which displaced ~500,000 people and killed 45.

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⌛ US–South Korea investment fund STALLS ahead of Trump visit — reports

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said talks with Washington over a $350 billion investment fund remain STUCK on “all the major details,” including how to divide losses and profits. In an interview with Bloomberg, Lee warned that the US push to “maximize its interests” must not lead to “catastrophic consequences for South Korea.”

The two sides are trying to finalize the deal before Lee’s meeting with Donald Trump at the APEC summit in Gyeongju, but “the method, the amount, the timeline — all remain sticking points,” Lee said.

The issue comes after tensions over a US immigration raid at a Korean battery plant in Georgia, where more than 300 workers were detained, and amid concern that Seoul’s automakers face 25% US tariffs while Japanese rivals pay 15% under a recent agreement with Washington.

Lee added that while “the delay does not necessarily mean failure,” any accord must protect Korean interests and ensure “rational treatment” for its workers in the US.

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🇵🇸 Hamas, PA agree on Amjad Shawa to lead new Gaza board — reports

Amjad Shawa, head of a civil society network in Gaza, has been approved by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to chair a new technocratic board that would administer the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing Israel’s KAN News.

The decision was made during a meeting in Cairo last week attended by Hamas, the PA, and Egyptian intelligence, though Shawa’s official appointment still depends on US approval, according to the report.

💬 Palestinian sources told KAN that “Amjad Shawa is pro-Hamas without being a Hamas man.”

Hamas and the PA are said to have each selected half of the proposed board members, while Egypt presented the final list during the talks.

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📑 Trump announces Thailand–Cambodia peace deal, trade accords in Malaysia

US President Donald Trump said he signed a peace treaty between Thailand and Cambodia, writing “NO WAR! Millions of lives saved.”

He added that during his visit to Malaysia, his team also signed major trade and rare earth deals.

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