 President says Russia has new line of nuclear-capable weapons that can breach US defences 
 
 Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic nuclear-capable weapons that would be able to outmanoeuvre US defences, in a possible signal of a new arms race between Moscow and the west. Speaking in a nationally televised address to the country’s political elite weeks before the presidential election, Putin showed video and animations of ICBMs, nuclear-powered cruise missiles, underwater drones and other weapons that he said Russia had developed as a result of the US pulling out of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty signed with the Soviet Union. “Listen to us now.” Some of the weapons were already being tested, he added. Image copyright Reuters Image caption One of the video graphics appeared to show missiles dropping on the US state of Florida 
 
 Analysis by Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent 
 
 President Putin's emphasis on a strong Russia modernising its nuclear arsenal is a reflection of similar statements over recent months from his US counterpart Donald Trump. It is a message that is likely to strike a chord with many here. "I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development ... you have failed to contain Russia," he said. Almost 70 percent of Russians are ready to support Putin in the March 18 election, according to a poll published Thursday by state news agency, TASS. Mr Putin made the claims as he laid out his key policies for a fourth presidential term, ahead of an election he is expected to win in 17 days' time. To rapturous applause, Putin said the new technology had been developed despite skepticism from other countries about Russia's capabilities. Reportedly first detected by US intelligence in 2016, the submarine-launched autonomous vehicle can carry a 100 megaton nuclear warhead. He pledged to halve poverty in the country within the next six years and said he wanted life-expectancy rates to emulate Japan and France. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The video screen shows the Kinzhal air missile system as Vladimir Putin (right) delivers his annual address. Putin also said Russia had developed a working laser weapon, a hypersonic missile and a cruise missile powered by a nuclear reactor that could fly indefinitely. “Missile defenses will be useless against it.” 
 
 Other new weapons include the Avangard — an intercontinental hypersonic missile that would fly to targets at a speed 20 times the speed of sound — and a weapons system called Kinzhal, already deployed in southern Russia, that uses hypersonic missiles that can strike targets 1,250 miles away. The missile has already raised concerns in the US about its compliance with global arms treaties. Image copyright AFP Image caption There was no confirmation that Russia's new stealth fighters have been used in combat in Syria 
 
 Mr Putin also announced that a bridge to the Crimean peninsula would be open within the next couple of months. Like a magician pulling one rabbit after another out of his hat, he wowed his audience with images of cruise missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, underwater drones and supersonic jets. Polls suggest Putin, who has dominated Russian politics as president or prime minister for 18 years, is on track to comfortably secure another six-year term.
– Vladimir Putin's annual speech to lawmakers Thursday contained what appears to be a jarring threat to the US and the rest of the world: Russia has a new, "invincible" missile that can go anywhere and cannot be stopped, he said. A video graphic behind Putin showed a missile taking off from Russia, zooming across the Atlantic to South America, then turning north toward the US, reports the Washington Post. "I hope everything that has been said today will sober any potential aggressor," Putin said, without naming names. He added that Russia had developed the nuclear-capable weapon, which "missile defenses will be useless against," despite skepticism about Moscow's abilities. "Nobody listened to us," he said, per NBC News. "Well listen to us now." Putin, who asserted that Moscow has "no plans to be an aggressor," also said Russia had a new underwater drone capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, reports the AP. And he declared that any use of nuclear weapons against one of its allies—again, he did not mention specific nations—would be considered a nuclear attack on Russia and that Moscow would respond in kind. All in all, the two-hour speech suggested "a new arms race" between Russia and the West, observes the Guardian. The speech comes less than three weeks before Putin is expected to easily win another six-year term, reports the BBC. He used much of the address to focus on economic reforms, promising among other things to reduce the rate of poverty by half in the next six years.