Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy Satan II nuclear missile this year

The RS-28 Sarmat, nicknamed Satan II, was pictured soaring into the air above plumes of brown smoke. Photo / Russian Defence Ministry

Russia will deploy its nuclear-capable “Satan II” intercontinental missile by the end of the year after its first successful launch, Vladimir Putin said.

The Russian President claimed the “invincible” weapon had a range of 35,000km and could break through any Western defence system.

The RS-28 Sarmat was first scheduled for deployment in 2018, but has faced years of failed tests and setbacks, with one exploding last year seconds after being launched.

Putin said: “It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems. The Sarmat will indeed be placed on combat duty at the end of the year.”

A video purporting to show the Satan II launch, which depicted the missile soaring into the air above plumes of brown smoke, was released by Russia’s Defence Ministry.

It is not the first time Putin has claimed the weapon was ready for deployment. In 2023, he hailed the missile’s success, but two years later admitted it had been delayed.

Russian officials have also been accused of exaggerating the capabilities of the Sarmat in the past.

Vyacheslav Volodin, a member of Russia’s security council, claimed it could hit the European Parliament in Strasbourg in under four minutes, despite no evidence to support this.

According to expert assessments, the Sarmat has a range of almost 18,000km and is capable of carrying 10 tonnes of payload, far less than Putin’s claim.

In comparison, the US LGM-30 Minuteman, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, has a maximum range of almost 13,000km and can carry a payload of up to three warheads.

The UK’s Trident II missile system, a submarine-launched ballistic missile, has a maximum range of just over 11,000km. It can carry eight warheads in a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) configuration.

On Tuesday (local time), Putin also said that work on Russia’s Poseidon, a nuclear-armed unmanned underwater torpedo, and Burevestnik, a low-flying nuclear-armed cruise missile, was entering its final stages.

He added that the Oreshnik system, an intermediate-range “state-of-the-art” ballistic missile, which Russia has twice launched at Ukraine, could be armed with nuclear warheads.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine 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.

He said previously that the Sarmat missile, which he claimed could hit any target on Earth, would make the Kremlin’s enemies “think twice”.

The Kremlin has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, according to some monitors.

Last year, it had nearly 5500 warheads, with about 1700 deployed and ready for use, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Putin’s comments came as the Kremlin released footage of him driving in Moscow and presenting his old school teacher with flowers.

It was published in response to Western media, citing European intelligence reports, which said that Putin’s security had been tightened and he was spending more time in bunkers.

Putin also said this week that he believed the Ukraine war was coming to an end after more than four years, claiming “victory has always been and will be ours”.

He made the comments after a scaled-back Victory Day parade, which took place amid a three-day ceasefire.

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