Russia to deploy Sarmat nuclear missiles this year, says Putin

• Putin announced that Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will be deployed this year.
• And that Russia will cease its participation in the New START treaty.
• And begin mass shipments of Zircon and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

President Vladimir Putin stated that the delayed Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would be deployed this year.

Putin originally revealed the RS-28 Sarmat liquid-fueled missile in 2018; it was planned to be deployed last year and has since been called Satan 2 by Western observers.

Prior to US President Joseph Biden’s visit to Ukraine earlier this week, the US believes Russia tested the Sarmat; nevertheless, the test was unsuccessful.

Regarding that report, the Russian defense ministry has not made any remarks.

The 18,000km-range missile, which Putin claims will make Russia’s adversaries “think twice,” is 35 meters (115 feet) long (11,185 miles).

Some others believe it to be higher. It has the capacity to transport ten or more multiple targetable re-entry vehicles, each of which carries a nuclear warhead and may be directed at a different target.

Also, it is capable of delivering hypersonic Avangard glide vehicles, which fly in an unexpected pattern to trick missile defenses and travel farther and faster.

“We pay special attention, as before, to strengthening the nuclear triad. This year, the first launchers of the Sarmat missile system will be put on combat duty,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin on Thursday to mark the “Defender of the Fatherland Day”, known in Soviet times as Red Army Day.

Putin had also stated in June of last year that the missile will be in place by the end of 2022.

Since ordering the invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Putin has hinted he is prepared to destroy the nuclear arms control system, including the great powers’ ban on nuclear testing, if the West does not withdraw from Ukraine.

Putin said that Russia would cease its participation in the New START deal, the last-standing nuclear armaments agreement with the US, during a state of the nation speech on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Russia later said that it would continue to abide by the treaty until its expiration in early 2026.

Putin also said that Russia would begin mass shipments of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles and maintain mass manufacture of air-based Kinzhal hypersonic weaponry.

“With the adoption of the Borei-A nuclear-powered submarine project Emperor Alexander III into the navy, the share of modern weapons and equipment in the naval strategic nuclear forces will reach 100 percent,” Putin said.

“In the coming years, three more cruisers of this project will replenish the fleet’s combat strength,” he said.

Late in December, the Emperor Alexander III was launched. It is the seventh submarine of the Borei-A class, which is capable of transporting 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Putin added that Russia will modernize all facets of its conventional military, enhance instruction, acquire cutting-edge gear, support the arms industry, and elevate soldiers who had demonstrated their mettle in war.

“A modern, efficient army and navy are a guarantee of the country’s security and sovereignty, a guarantee of its stable development and its future,” Putin said.

“Therefore, we will continue to pay priority attention to strengthening our defense capability.”

Russian tanks entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as part of a purported “special military operation,” hoping for an immediate triumph.

According to a number of Western reports, the conflict has resulted in an estimated 150,000 casualties on both sides including thousands of civilian deaths as a result of Ukraine’s tenacious resistance.

Also Read

Putin talks up nuclear arsenal on war anniversary eve, Ukraine defends front line

Putin raises the possibility of boosting nuclear forces. Russia to deploy Sarmat...