Russia goes ballistic

Citizens look at the wreckage of a Russian rocket in a park after Russian nighttime missile attack in Kyiv, the two countries have already been engaged in drone warfare since early August. File Pic/Getty Images

The head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency said on Friday that the country has deployed an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that President Vladimir Putin once said will make Russia's enemies "think twice."

"The Sarmat strategic missile system has entered active duty," Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said. According to Sputnik News, "The RS-28 Sarmat is Russia's next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that is set to become the backbone of the country's silo-based strategic deterrent. With its impressive range and destructive power, the Sarmat is considered one of the deadliest nuclear missiles in the world.Based on experts' estimates, the RS-28 Sarmat is capable of delivering a MIRVed warhead weighing up to 10 tonnes to any location worldwide, both over the North and South Poles," added Borisov.

The Sarmat strategic system has assumed a combat alert posture, the news agency reported. The Sarmat is one of several advanced weapons whose development Putin announced in 2018. The silo-based missile, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, is intended to replace the R-36 ICBMs that are known by the NATO reporting name of Satan. The Sarmat reportedly has a short initial launch phase, allowing little time for surveillance systems to track it.

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In 2022, about two months after sending troops into Ukraine, Putin said the Sarmat would "reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice". The missile was launched and test-fired on April 20, 2022, just months after the Russia and Ukraine war started.

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