18,000 kilometers: Russia is testing new ICBMs

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Sarmat-type missile can be equipped with nuclear warheads and reinforces Russia’s nuclear potential – at the same time as a kind of threat.

In the midst of its war in Ukraine, Russia tested its new Sarmat-type ICBM (NATO reporting name: SS-X-30 Satan 2). The missile, which can be equipped with nuclear warheads, will massively strengthen Russia’s nuclear potential, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Wednesday. No missile in the world can hit targets as far away as this one, he said. Sarmat has a range of 18,000 kilometers.

This allows Russia to attack both the North Pole and the South Pole and reach targets across the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that there will be nothing in the world like the missile for a long time. The weapons system has “the best tactical and technical properties and is capable of overcoming all modern means of missile defense,” the Kremlin chief said. “This is a truly unique weapon that will enhance the combat potential of our armed forces and reliably protect Russia’s security from external threats.”

USA were informed in advance

The missile was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region on Wednesday afternoon, the Defense Ministry said. The non-nuclear warheads used for the test hit the Kura site on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East. Russia put its nuclear weapons on high alert eight weeks ago, at the start of its war in Ukraine. The announcement was taken as a threat to the country’s nuclear arsenal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin follows the missile test in the media. via REUTERS

According to the US Department of Defense, Russia informed the US in advance about testing an ICBM. As part of its obligations under the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty, Moscow “has duly notified the United States that it is planning an ICBM test,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in Washington on Wednesday. The abbreviation ICBM stands for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. “Such tests are routine and were not a surprise,” he said. The test is not seen as a threat to the United States or its allies.

(APA/dpa)