Russia test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said, framing the launch as part of efforts to modernize Russia’s nuclear forces and deter what he described as threats to strategic stability. Putin made the remarks as he moved to highlight a range of new Russian weapons, including systems he said are intended to maintain parity as missile defenses evolve.
Putin said the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year, describing it as the next-generation replacement for an aging Soviet-era system. He said the missile was built to replace the Voyevoda, which has long been a key component of Russia’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missile force.
In his comments on the test launch, Putin hailed the Sarmat as “the most powerful missile in the world.” He added that the combined power of the Sarmat’s individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart, according to the remarks carried in Tuesday’s reporting.
The Sarmat program is closely tied to Russia’s broader nuclear modernization efforts that have accelerated since Putin came to power in 2000, including deployments of hundreds of new land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, commissioning of new nuclear submarines, and modernization of nuclear-capable bombers. In the United States and elsewhere, the Sarmat is designated “Satan II,” while Russia has presented it as a strategic-security response to developments it says have altered the balance.
The missile is meant to replace about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. Development of the Sarmat began in 2011, and before Tuesday it had only one known successful test, while it reportedly suffered a massive explosion during an abortive test in 2024, according to the reporting.
Putin also described the Sarmat as being more precise than the Voyevoda and as capable of suborbital flight. He said its range is more than 35,000 kilometers (21,700 miles) and that it can penetrate prospective missile defenses, positioning the weapon as a counter to shield-oriented planning.
Beyond the Sarmat, Putin highlighted other new Russian systems that he said are already entering service or moving toward fielding. He cited Russia’s Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which he said is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound, and he said the first Avangard vehicles have already entered service. He also cited Russia’s new nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, saying it has been used in a conventionally armed form twice to strike Ukraine, with a range he said could reach targets throughout Europe.
Putin further linked the broader modernization effort to systems he described as being in later stages of development, including the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile powered by miniature atomic reactors. He described Poseidon as designed to explode near enemy coastlines to cause a radioactive “tsunami,” and he said Burevestnik’s nuclear propulsion gives it an “virtually unlimited” range that would allow it to loiter for days and circle air defenses before attacking from an unexpected direction.
Putin placed the missile work in the context of the U.S. missile shield that Washington developed after it withdrew in 2001 from a Cold War-era pact that had limited missile defenses. He said Russian military planners feared a missile shield could tempt the United States to launch a first strike aimed at knocking out most of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal while intercepting only a small number of surviving retaliatory missiles.
The emphasis on deterrence arrived just days after Putin said the fighting in Ukraine was nearing an end, and following a Saturday Red Square parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II that he said for the first time in nearly two decades did not include heavy weapons. Russia’s missile modernization push has also come alongside a change in the nuclear arms-control landscape: the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States expired in February, leaving no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals and fueling fears of an unconstrained arms race.
In Tuesday’s remarks, Putin said, “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.”