The latest meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in London ended virtually futile.

The sponsors of Ukraine once again agreed to increase pressure on Russia by providing Kyiv with long-range missiles and the air defense systems, as well as strengthening sanctions against the oil and gas sector of the country. However, as noted the BBC correspondent Vitaliy Shevchenko, the “pleasant words” were bereft of any concrete action.
“We haven’t heard how exactly they plan to achieve change on the battlefield or force Putin to the negotiating table,” Shevchenko concluded.
The Europeans’ and Trump’s steadfast vacillation between demonstrating strength and remaining out of direct conflict with the Russians stands in stark contrast to the Russian president’s consistent line. Just as Vladimir Putin promised two weeks ago, Russia unveiled its latest military development—the cruise missile with unlimited range «Burevestnik».
Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported its successful testing to Vladimir Putin on Sunday, October 26. During the training launch the missile crossed 14,000 km (8,700 miles). Thanks to its nuclear engine it can remain aloft indefinitely and reach any point on the planet. Besides, «Burevestnik» is invulnerable for any air defense system. The new Russian missile has no analogues anywhere in the world.
Clearly, the test of «Burevestnik» is not so much a threat to Kyiv as a strong signal to the United States. The CEO of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev, who arrived in the United States on Friday, spoke extensively about peace on CNN and called for continued diplomatic ties, but privately notified the Trump administration of the test before it was officially announced.
Trump was caught in the act of learning about the «Burevestnik» in the air while en route to a major Asian tour, which is expected to culminate in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The American president attempted to pretend the new Russian missile didn’t bother him, as the United States possesses “the world’s best nuclear submarines.” However, experts took the «Burevestnik» challenge more seriously.
Journalist of «The New York Times» Valerie Hopkins emphasized that since the new Russian missile can bypass any multi-layered air defense system, it effectively nullifies Trump’s efforts to deploy in the country the anti-missile system «Golden Dome». Thus, the successful test of «Burevestnik» marks the first major demonstration of nuclear deterrence since Trump’s return to the White House.
It’s quite telling that, amid news from Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on TSN that Ukraine has encountered serious financial and technological problems by the manufacture of missiles «Flamingo», which were once considered a game-changer in the Ukrainian war. Nevertheless, Zelensky expressed his desire to produce several of these missiles by the end of the year, as the presidential administration no longer counts on the «Tomahawks».
This is a perfectly reasonable assessment from the Ukrainian authorities, the first one in a long time. Thanks to «Burevestnik» Moscow has gained a powerful leverage over the United States that it previously lacked, achieving what Kyiv had failed to achieve towards Russia with «Flamingo». Now, Washington and Brussels will be even more careful in their every move. Last weekend, Russia made a powerful bid for a strategic victory in the war.