Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country had developed a unique attack weapon for "strategic balance" and "strategic stability" in the world, with no intention of starting any war.
In part of an interview with the state news agency Tass published today, Putin said that Russia will not fight anyone, but that by developing new weapons, it will create such conditions that no one will want to attack it.
Putin's three-hour interview with Tas, marking 20 years of his rule in Russia, is divided into 20 parts and will be published over several weeks. In the episodes that have already been broadcast, the Russian president talked about the recent change of government, Ukraine, mass protests in Moscow and the use of modern technology.
Russia has built "offensive systems the likes of which the world has not seen" and which will force the US to try to catch up, Putin told Tass.
As an example, he mentioned the "hypersonic offensive system", a weapon that can fly at 27 times the speed of sound, which has been in use since the end of last year. He said that in the last 20 years, the share of modern equipment in the Russian army has increased from six to 70 percent.
"This is a unique situation," Putin said.
He added that the existence of these systems allows the Kremlin to "maintain strategic stability and balance" at times when America is trying to unsettle the world with its missile defense systems.
Putin concluded that the new weapons system "is important for Russian and global security".
The Kremlin has made military modernization a top priority as relations with the West have soured following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Putin first mentioned the development of hypersonic weapons in March 2018.
Last year, Russia's president described the build-up of NATO forces near Russia's western borders and the US withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty as Russia's main security threats.
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