Russia’s Mystery Missile

<p>At least seven people were killed by a mysterious explosion in northern Russia, and U.S. officials believe it happened during the test of a prototype for a nuclear-propelled cruise missile. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has hailed the weapon as the centerpiece of Moscow’s arms race with the United States — but what will this mean for an arms race that both countries want to win? Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-e-sanger" target="_blank">David E. Sanger</a>, a national security correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Intelligence officials suspect the blast involved a prototype<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/world/europe/russia-nuclear-explosion-accident.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> known as Skyfall</a>, a missile that Mr. Putin has boasted can reach any corner of the earth and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/world/europe/russia-nuclear-accident-putin.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> evade American missile defenses</a>.</li><li>As the death toll has risen from the explosion, Russia’s silence and contradictory accounts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/world/europe/russia-nuclear-reactor-explosion-response.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">have conjured dark memories of Chernobyl</a>.</li></ul>