Ukraine launches largest drone strike on Moscow as MIT reveals details of Russia's nuclear-powered missile

Jun 18, 2026

Ukraine launches its largest drone strike on Moscow, setting a major oil refinery on fire in retaliation for a Russian attack on Kyiv. Concurrently, an MIT analysis of Russia's nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile reveals its design likely spews dangerous radiation from a direct-cycle engine. Experts deem the "invincible" missile an "environmental nightmare" of questionable military utility, while Russia vows retaliatory strikes for the drone attack.

Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile

▪A 2019 accident that killed several Russian nuclear personnel is widely believed to have been an attempt to recover a prototype Burevestnik reactor.
▪Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the Burevestnik missile in 2018, describing it as "invincible" against American missile defenses.
▪During its October 2025 test, the Burevestnik missile flew in loops for several hours.
▪Russia conducted a test of its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, known by NATO as Skyfall, on October 21, 2025, over the Arctic Circle.

MIT reactor design analysis

▪The researchers estimated the missile's dimensions using Russian media videos and concluded it travels at subsonic speeds of around 575 mph (Mach .75).
▪MIT researchers Jake Hecla and R. Scott Kemp published an analysis detailing the likely design of Russia's Burevestnik missile.
▪A direct-cycle system functions by forcing atmospheric air directly through the nuclear fuel in the reactor's core to generate thrust.
▪The MIT analysis concludes the Burevestnik missile is likely powered by a direct-cycle air-breathing nuclear propulsion system driving a turbojet.

Cold War nuclear aircraft programs

▪The Soviet Union conducted similar flight experiments in 1961 with a nuclear reactor aboard a modified Tupolev TU-95 bomber.
▪During the 1950s and 1960s, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union researched nuclear-powered aircraft for their potential of nearly unlimited range.
▪A U.S. program called Project Pluto developed a nuclear-powered cruise missile engine, testing a reactor on a railroad car in 1964.
▪The U.S. tested a nuclear reactor inside a Convair B-36 bomber in 1955, but the reactor was never connected to the plane's engines.

Radiation exposure from exhaust

▪The exhaust is calculated to contain radioactive isotopes of argon, krypton, and carbon, with more possible if the core corrodes.
▪The missile's direct-cycle engine is highly likely to release large quantities of radioactive material in its exhaust.
▪The MIT analysis suggests the Burevestnik missile's reactor spews radiation as it flies, posing an "enormous risk" to people near the test site.

Questionable military utility

▪Ukraine launched its largest drone raid on Moscow since the 2022 invasion, setting a major oil refinery on fire.
▪The targeted Kapotnya refinery supplies up to 40% of Moscow's gasoline and about 50% of its diesel fuel.
▪Russia's foreign minister announced plans for "group strikes" on Ukraine "on a regular basis" in retaliation for the Moscow raid.
▪Scholar Jeffrey Lewis described the Burevestnik missile as an "environmental nightmare" and "kind of useless."
▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was a response to a recent Russian strike on a Kyiv monastery complex.