Putin says claims new nuclear weapons can bypass any missile-defense system
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted Thursday that Russia has developed a new generation of nuclear weapons capable of bypassing any missile-defense system - a claim that drew a rebuke from the White House and raised the specter of a rekindled Cold War-style arms rivalry.
Some analysts said the bellicose tone of Putin's state of the nation speech appeared mainly meant to bolster a tough image in advance of this month's presidential election, in which his victory is a foregone conclusion. Others questioned whether the new Russian weapon, if it exists, would represent a genuine threat to American security.
Putin's rhetoric, replete with warnings that the Kremlin would respond accordingly to any nuclear attack on Russia or its allies, marked
