The\u00a0Sarmat ICBM<\/a>\u00a0was launched Wednesday in northern Russia, with its practice warheads reaching mock targets more than 3,500 miles away on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kremlin said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sarmat is the most powerful missile that has the highest range in the world, and it will significantly bolster the capability of the country\u2019s strategic nuclear forces,\u201d the Defense Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n Putin \u2014 who has repeatedly threatened to use his nuclear arsenal since invading Ukraine in late February \u2014 said the test should provide \u201cfood for thought\u201d for the West.<\/p>\n \u201cThis really unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia\u2019s security from external threats and make those, who in the heat of frantic aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country, think twice,\u201d the warmongering leader said.<\/p>\n He bragged that the missile \u201chas the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense.\u201d<\/p>\n Dmitry Rogozin, head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday\u2019s test of the \u201csuperweapon\u201d as a \u201cpresent to NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n Igor Korotchenko, editor in chief of Russia\u2019s National Defence magazine, called it proof that the Kremlin was capable of delivering \u201ccrushing retribution that will put an end to the history of any country that has encroached on the security of Russia and its people.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the ominous statements, Russia gave the US an advance warning of its test, the Pentagon said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not a surprise. We did not deem the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies,\u201d Pentagon spokesman John Kirby insisted.<\/p>\n It is just Putin\u2019s latest threat of all-out nuclear war.<\/p>\n When he\u00a0announced the invasion eight weeks ago<\/a>, Putin made a pointed reference to Russia\u2019s nuclear forces and warned the West that any attempt to get in its way \u201cwill lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history.\u201d<\/p>\n Days later, he ordered Russia\u2019s nuclear forces to be\u00a0put on high alert.<\/a><\/p>\n United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres admitted last month, \u201cThe prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back\u00a0within the realm of possibility<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sarmat has been under development for several years as a replacement to the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which was code-named Satan by the West and forms the core of Russia\u2019s nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n It is capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicles along with other types of warheads, the Kremlin said. That could include the\u00a0Avangard hypersonic vehicle<\/a>, which is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers to dodge missile shields.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/putin-satan-nuclear-missile-feat-image.webp\"){kind=spacer}
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