Putin takes a ride in a nuclear-capable bomber
President Vladimir V. Putin took a short flight in a supersonic bomber Thursday, part of his pre-election efforts to project confidence and power within Russia, and a striking reminder to the West of his country's nuclear capabilities.
The flight lasted just 30 minutes, the Kremlin said a statementbut the range of the wide-wing Tu-160M, also known in Russia as the White Swan, allows it to reach the United States with two dozen nuclear weapons on board.
Russian state television showed Putin, 71, climbing the stairs beneath the giant fighter plane, one of the largest and heaviest in the world, before it took off from the tarmac of an airport in Kazan, a city east of Moscow. The Kremlin has been released a video of Mr Putin's flight, on which he sits in a pilot's seat.
As he stepped off the plane, Mr. Putin told reporters that the flight left a good impression and praised the new, modernized bomber as “very reliable.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov told state television that Putin spontaneously made the decision to take the flight on Thursday when he visited an aviation factory in Kazan, where he inspected four modernized Tu-160M bombers.
But since he became president of Russia more than two decades ago, Putin has become known for publicity stunts designed to portray him as a strong leader of a great power.
During this time, Mr Putin has flown in a fighter jet, plunged into the sea in a submarine and… sent Siberian cranes to their winter habitat in a motorized hang glider. The widespread stunts projected Mr Putin as a physically fit and fearless leader.
The bomber flight appeared to be an attempt to send a sharp message amid the most dire geopolitical conflict between Moscow and the West since the darkest times of the Cold War.
The Tu-160M is a modernized version of a Soviet-designed strategic bomber. The main mission of the Tu-160M, part of the Russian nuclear triad, is to deliver long-range nuclear bombs in the event of a nuclear war. In 2005, Mr Putin took flight in an older version of the bomber.