Russia tests long-range missile after US nuclear treaty expires

Russia on Tuesday tested a new long-range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, months after the last treaty with the United States limiting their atomic arsenals lapsed, 24NewsHD TV reported..

The ending of the New START agreement in February formally released the world's two largest nuclear powers from a raft of restrictions.

"This is the most powerful missile system in the world," claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin after receiving a report of a successful launch of Sarmat, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

He said the missile could carry a warhead more than four times more powerful than anything Western militaries possessed, adding that Sarmat would be on "combat duty" by the end of this year.

Putin had repeatedly said the missile would be deployed by the end of the year since its first test in 2022, but those plans had yet to materialise.

Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, said the deployment of Russia's "largest missile" this year was realistic, but added it will not lead to a "significant change in the deterrent potential of Russia's strategic forces."

The Kremlin said it had notified the United States of the launch, the state news agency TASS reported.

Even though Moscow and Washington agreed to reestablish high-level military dialogue shortly after New START expired, there were no immediate signs of renewing or prolonging it.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed for a new treaty to include China, whose arsenal is growing but still significantly smaller than those of Russia or the US, but Beijing has publicly rejected the pressure.

Trump had been mostly silent on Russian calls to extend New START, which was signed in 2010 and imposed the last restrictions on Moscow and Washington after decades of agreements dating from the Cold War.

Both countries have repeatedly accused each other of failing to adhere to the agreement.

Sarmat, referred to as "Satan II" in NATO designation, is the first ICBM produced in post-Soviet Russia to be classed as "super heavy".

Putin said it was capable of travelling 35,000 kilometres (22,000 miles).

According to foreign media reports, the successful launch was confirmed during a briefing to Putin by Russian Strategic Missile Forces commander Sergei Karakayev today.

Putin described the Sarmat missile as the “world’s most powerful” nuclear missile, saying it was capable of striking targets thousands of miles away in the United States and Europe.

In remarks broadcast on Russian television, the Russian president claimed the missile’s warhead capacity was four times greater than comparable Western systems and that it had a range exceeding 35,000 kilometres.

He also claimed the missile could evade all existing and future missile defence systems.

Karakayev said the deployment of launch systems equipped with Sarmat missiles would significantly strengthen Russia’s combat capabilities and help achieve strategic defence objectives.

The Sarmat missile, often referred to in the West as “Satan II,” is part of Russia’s strategic nuclear modernisation programme and is designed to replace older Soviet-era missile systems.