Russia will deploy its new Sarmat strategic nuclear missile at the end of this year, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, describing it as “the most powerful in the world”. The planned deployment of the missile – designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe – follows years of setbacks and delays. Putin, in televised comments, said the yield of the warhead was more than four times greater than any Western equivalent and its range exceeded 35,000 km (21,750 miles).
“It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems,” he said.
What is Russia’s Sarmat Nuclear Missile?
Western security analysts say Putin has made exaggerated claims for the capabilities of some of Russia’s new generation of nuclear weapons, part of a modernisation programme he first announced in 2018.
Sarmat has seen failures in the past – one test in September 2024 left a deep crater at the launch silo, according to Western experts.
🇷🇺 Today Russia test-fired Satan II and it worked.
RS-28 Sarmat, Plesetsk to Kamchatka. 5,500 kilometers in 30 minutes… direct hit.
Putin confirmed within the hour: first combat-ready regiment armed with this missile deploys by end of 2026.
This same missile blew up in its… https://t.co/ZX7HGO9XI2 pic.twitter.com/QUIFQvmrHh
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 12, 2026
Successful Sarmat Test-Launch
State TV showed Sergei Karakayev, commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces, reporting to Putin on what he said was a successful Sarmat test-launch on Tuesday.
⚡️President #Putin: Following successful test of #Sarmat – world’s most powerful missile system – its payload yield is over 4× any Western counterpart
It can travel on ballistic & suborbital trajectories, extending range beyond 35,000 km while improving accuracy. pic.twitter.com/GLJTVcsqXz
— Russian Embassy in South Africa 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) May 12, 2026
“The deployment of launchers equipped with the Sarmat missile system will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the ground-based strategic nuclear forces in terms of guaranteeing the destruction of targets and solving strategic deterrence problems,” Karakayev said.
Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, Putin has repeatedly reminded the world of the size and power of Russia’s nuclear arsenal in statements seen by the West as attempts to deter it from intervening too strongly on the side of Ukraine.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
