Weapons

Putin Warns That Russia Is Developing ‘Invincible’ Hypersonic Missiles

Alarmed by the Trump administration’s scrapping of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has ramped up warnings that his country is developing new hypersonic missiles that will travel at more than five times the speed of sound and will be “invincible.”

But while instructing his military to expand the launch platforms and sophistication of its rocket arsenal, Mr. Putin has also ordered Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu to stay within the limits of existing spending plans for 2019 and beyond.

“We must not and will not let ourselves be drawn into an expensive arms race,” Mr. Putin told Mr. Shoigu at a meeting over the weekend in the Kremlin, according to a transcript released by Moscow.