Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will deploy its new Sarmat strategic nuclear missile by the end of this year, describing it as the “most powerful in the world”.
The missile, designed to carry nuclear warheads across intercontinental distances, is capable of striking targets in the United States or Europe and is expected to significantly enhance Russia’s strategic deterrence capabilities.
In televised remarks, Putin said the weapon’s warhead yield is more than four times greater than Western counterparts and claimed its range exceeds 35,000 kilometres.
“It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems,” he said.
The Sarmat programme has faced several delays and technical setbacks over the years. Western defence analysts have previously questioned some of Moscow’s claims regarding the missile’s capabilities.
Reports have also pointed to past testing failures, including an incident in September 2024 that allegedly caused damage at a launch site.
Despite this, Russian state television showed the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces reporting what was described as a successful test launch of the system on Tuesday.
Commander Sergei Karakayev said the deployment of Sarmat missile systems would significantly strengthen Russia’s ground-based nuclear forces and improve its strategic deterrence posture.
“The deployment of launchers equipped with the Sarmat missile system will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the ground-based strategic nuclear forces,” he said.
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Putin has repeatedly highlighted Russia’s nuclear arsenal in statements widely viewed by Western governments as attempts to deter foreign intervention.
