Russia has announced the first test launch of its new Sarmatian intercontinental ballistic missile system (ICBM) with nuclear capacity on Wednesday.
The rocket, fired from a facility in northern Russia to a range in the east, should give the country’s enemies a break, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on Russian television, he said the weapon “will make those who, in the midst of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think”.
While apparently digging into Western sanctions, he also noted that the missile was made with all-Russian components.
Russian officials duly notified the United States before the test shot, according to the Pentagon, which called the shooting “routine” rather than a threat to the United States.
Mr Putin said the missile, which hit its targets after traveling about 6,000 km (3,700 miles), was virtually impossible to defend with modern technology.
“The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is able to overcome all modern means of missile defense. “There are no analogues in the world and there won’t be much time left,” he said during a video briefing with defense officials.
The Sarmatian, called Satan II by some NATO leaders, replaced the Soviet-era Voivode’s system and has been under development for years. Putin announced the development of ICBM in 2018.
The launch is the latest public call for Russia’s nuclear program in the context of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
As Mr Putin launched the offensive in February, he warned that outside interference would lead to “consequences you have never seen in your history”, which many see as a nuclear threat.
He also put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert.
Russian forces have used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, making them the first nation to use such weapons in a theater of operations.
Hypersonic weapons move at speeds up to five times the speed of sound and are more difficult to track and intercept than conventional weapons.
The United States tested its own hypersonic missile in mid-March, but did not announce the test until mid-March to avoid escalating tensions with Russia, CNN reported.
Russia may have failed in its initial quest to seize the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in a massive land offensive, but the threat to the country is not over.
Nearly two months after the invasion began, Russia appears to be changing its strategy, amassing troops and supplies for a renewed campaign in eastern Ukraine, where Russia and separatist groups it supports have been waging an armed uprising for years.
“They’re moving with heavy artillery, they’re moving in command and control, they’re moving in aviation – especially rotary aviation support,” a senior Pentagon defense official told The Washington Post. “They seem to be trying to learn from lessons in the north, where they didn’t have adequate endurance opportunities.”
At the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, images of large convoys of Russian vehicles blocked without fuel and Russian soldiers looting local grocery stores appeared.
U.S. officials say Vladimir Putin and his circle of advisers greatly underestimate the difficulty of taking over Ukraine and the determination of Ukraine’s defense efforts.
“He was convinced that he had modernized his army and they were capable of a quick, decisive victory at a minimum cost. He has been proven wrong on all counts, “CIA Director William Burns, a former ambassador to Moscow, told Congress in March. “These assumptions have turned out to be deeply wrong in the last 12 days of conflict.
Add Comment