Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted this week that Moscow’s latest nuclear missile, called “Satan-2” by NATO, could be ready for deployment by the end of the year.
The strong Kremlin man issued the warning as he addressed graduates of Russia’s military academies on Wednesday.
Putin boasted that the 14-lane intercontinental ballistic missiles, officially known in Russia as the RS-28 Sarmat, have no competition in the world.
“The Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile has been successfully tested,” said the president of the Moscow graduates. “It is planned that by the end of this year the first such complex will be put on combat duty.
Russia announced the first Satan-2 test launch in April, and a month later Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia’s state space agency Roscosmos, said the nation’s arsenal would soon include 50 of the new rockets.
“I suggest that the aggressors speak more politely to us,” Rogozin said grimly at the time.
Introduced for the first time in 2018, Satan-2 can carry 10 or more nuclear warheads and lures and has an approximate range of between 6,200 and 11,800 miles, which would allow the Kremlin to hit targets anywhere on the planet.
Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow on Wednesday.via REUTERS Putin warned that missiles have no competition in the world.AP
In May, the Kremlin threatened to deploy Satan-2 missiles to strike Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto signaled his country’s intention to join NATO.
“If Finland wants to join this bloc, then our goal is absolutely legitimate – to question the existence of this country. This is logical, “said Alexei Zhuravlyov, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee.
“If the United States is threatening our country, that’s fine: Here’s the sarma [Satan-2 missile] for you and there will be nuclear ashes from you if you think that Russia should not exist, “he added. “And Finland says it’s one with the United States. Well, get in line. ”
In a speech to military school graduates, Putin said his administration was committed to modernizing and strengthening Russia’s armed forces amid “potential military threats and risks.”
Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missiles roll during military parade for Victory Day in Moscow on May 9.AP
“Among the priority areas is equipping the troops with new weapons systems that will determine the combat effectiveness of the army and navy in the coming years and decades,” he said.
Putin also praised Russian soldiers and officers involved in what is known in Russia as a “special military operation” in Ukraine, saying they had acted “boldly, professionally, like real heroes.”
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