Putin hails Russia's test launch of a new ballistic missile and calls it
the world's most powerful
[May 13, 2026]
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Tuesday test-fired a new
intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to modernize the
country's nuclear forces, a launch hailed by President Vladimir Putin
just days after his claim that the fighting in Ukraine is nearing an
end.
Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat
service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging
Soviet-built Voyevoda.
“This is the most powerful missile in the world,” Putin declared, adding
that the combined power of the Sarmat’s individually targeted warheads
is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart.
The Russian leader has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword after
sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to try to deter the West
from ramping up support for Ukraine.
After overseeing a military parade on Red Square on Saturday
commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, which for the
first time in nearly two decades didn’t include heavy weapons, Putin
declared the conflict in Ukraine is coming to an end.
Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has overseen efforts to upgrade the
Soviet-built components of the Russian nuclear triad — deploying
hundreds of new, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles,
commissioning new nuclear submarines and modernizing nuclear-capable
bombers.
Russia’s effort to revamp its nuclear forces pushed the United States to
launch a costly modernization of its arsenal.
The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the U.S. expired
in February, leaving no caps on the world's two largest atomic arsenals
for the first time in more than a half-century and fueling fears of an
unconstrained nuclear arms race.
The Sarmat — designated “Satan II” in the West — is meant to replace
about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. Its development began in 2011
and before Tuesday, the missile had only one known successful test and
reportedly suffered a massive explosion during an abortive test in 2024.
Putin said Tuesday that the Sarmat — part of a slew of new weapons that
Putin revealed in 2018, claiming they would render any prospective U.S.
missile defenses useless — is as powerful as the Voyevoda but with a
higher precision. It is capable of suborbital flight, he said, giving it
a range of more than 35,000 kilometers (21,700 miles) and an extended
capability to penetrate any prospective missile defenses.
[to top of second column]
|
In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry
Press Service on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Russia's new Sarmat
intercontinental ballistic missile is test launched at an
unspecified location in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press
Service via AP)
Moscow's new weapons include the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle,
capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound. The first
vehicles have already entered service.
Russia has also commissioned the new nuclear-capable Oreshnik
intermediate-range ballistic missile, and used its
conventionally-armed version twice to strike Ukraine. Oreshnik's
range of up to 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) makes it capable of
reaching any target in Europe.
Putin also announced Russia was in the “final stages” of the
development of the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the
Burevestnik cruise missile powered by miniature atomic reactors.
The Poseidon is designed to explode near enemy coastlines and cause
a radioactive tsunami. The Burevestnik has virtually unlimited range
thanks to nuclear propulsion, allowing it to loiter for days,
circling air defenses and attacking from an unexpected direction.
Putin has described those new weapons as part of a Russian response
to the U.S. missile shield that Washington developed after its 2001
withdrawal from a Cold War-era U.S.-Soviet pact that limited missile
defenses.
Russian military planners have feared a missile shield could tempt
Washington to launch a first strike that would knock out most of
Moscow’s nuclear arsenal in hopes of intercepting a small number of
surviving missiles fired in retaliation.
"We were forced to consider ensuring our strategic security in the
face of the new reality and the need to maintain a strategic balance
of power and parity,” Putin said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
