Russia, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, has tested its new Sarmat 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.”
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.