The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was launched by the Russian military at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, Russia, in this still image taken from a video published on April 20, 2022. Russian Ministry of Defense / Distribution via REUTERS
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LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday it planned to deploy its newly tested Sarmatian intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of launching nuclear strikes against the United States by the fall.
The goal, set by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency, is ambitious, as Russia announced its first launch only on Wednesday, and Western military experts say more will be needed before the rocket can be deployed. Read more
The Sarmatian is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and lures and striking targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe.
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This week’s test, after years of delays due to funding and technical problems, marks a show of strength from Russia at a time when the war in Ukraine has sent tensions with the United States and its allies to their highest levels since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Rogozin said in an interview with Russian state television that the missiles would be stationed in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) east of Moscow.
He said they would be placed in the same places and in the same silos as the Soviet-era Voevoda missiles, which they would replace, something that would save “colossal resources and time”.
The launch of the “superweapon” was a historic event that will ensure the safety of Russia’s children and grandchildren for the next 30-40 years, Rogozin added.
Western concerns about the risk of nuclear war have increased since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24 in a speech in which he vividly mentioned Moscow’s nuclear forces and warned that any attempt to thwart Russia “will led to consequences you have never encountered in your history. “
“The prospect of a nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now within reach again,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month.
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Reuters report; Edited by David Holmes
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