Russia Launches 'Satan-2', the 'Most Powerful Nuclear Missile' in the World
Amid military reverses that have rubbed the luster off of Russia’s swagger, the country tested a nuclear missile Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin said will scare anyone who dares threaten his nation.
Described as the “world’s most powerful nuclear missile” by Military.com, the missile can carry at least 10 warheads, “each with enough payload to wipe out an area the size of Texas or France.”
The missile has a range estimated at 11,000 miles and weighs more than 200 tons, according to the U.K. Daily Mail, which reported the test.
It’s the latest version of a Soviet-era missile that debuted in the 1960s and “carried more power than anything in the U.S. arsenal,” Military.com reported. That missile was nicknamed “Satan” by NATO forces.
The missile launched Wednesday, technically known as the RS-28 Sarmat, has been dubbed “Satan-2,” according to Military.com.
The test comes as Russia has been humiliated after failing to sweep through Ukraine and, according to the Daily Mail, “a growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are said to be fearing the Russian strongman could resort to using nuclear weapons as Moscow’s position worsens.”
Russia’s death toll from its invasion has now hit 20,900, according to Ukrainian estimates, the Daily Mail reported.
Putin talked tough about the new missile on Wednesday.
“The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense. It has no analogues in the world and won’t have for a long time to come,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.
“This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country.”
Russian state-run media sought to inject fear into Russia’s enemies by adding that the Sarmat has the “longest range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of our country’s strategic nuclear forces,” the Daily Mail reported.
However, Russia’s own Defense Ministry made it clear that the new weapon is not ready for use, The New York Times reported.
The ministry said in a statement that the test was the missile’s first, and that it could be used only “after the completion of the testing program.”
According to the Times, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said officials at the Pentagon had determined the launch was not a threat to the U.S.
If Russia has superior hardware, Ukrainians recently offered new evidence of their spirit of resistance, the Times reported.
Ukraine’s postal service last week debuted a new stamp featuring a Ukrainian soldier raising a middle finger at a Russian warship, a reference to an incident early in the war when Ukrainian fighters refused to surrender a Black Sea island to Russia.
The Ukrainian postal service printed a run of one million stamps with the image of a Ukrainian special forces fighter raising his middle finger at a Russian warship. The stamps have sold out.https://t.co/SEIimTrOlb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 21, 2022
One million stamps were printed, and just about all have been sold.
“As of now nearly 700,000 stamps have been sold and the sale of stamps in our branches is done,” Igor Smelyansky, director of Ukraine’s postal service, said in a Facebook post, the Times reported.
The Times quoted a man whose name was given as Illya, 73, who said he waited three hours to buy the stamps for his kids.
“It’s a big symbol,” he said. “It represents our faith in the future, the faith in a better life for my children.”
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