Putin has deployed a new Russian nuclear missile: the Satan II ICBM. In doing so, he sends a clear signal in the Ukraine war.
Moscow – After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his new miracle weapon in June, the time has now come: According to official information, Russia has sent the new, powerful RS-28 Sarmat ICBM into combat use. The nuclear missile is also known by the nickname “Satan II”. What makes Russia’s new ICBM so dangerous? And what does it mean for the Ukraine war?
The head of Russia’s Roskosmos space agency, Yuri Borissov, informed on Russian television on Friday (September 1) that Moscow’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads, has been deployed for “combat use”. . He also confirmed to the Russian agency RIA that the weapon stationed in underground missile shafts was in active service.
Russia’s new miracle weapon: Putin’s Sarmat nuclear missile “Satan II” is probably ready for use
The nuclear missile is by no means a surprise. In April 2022, the missile was already tested by Russia. In response, Putin announced in June that the Sarmat missiles would go into combat “soon.” However, that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. With Satan II, Russia has produced its deadliest nuclear weapon since the end of the Cold War, replacing its predecessor, the SS-18 missile. A “Satan II” rocket alone should be able to make an area the size of the US state of Texas disappear from the face of the earth, according to the US broadcaster CNN reported with reference to Russian information. In Europe, that corresponds roughly to a country like France.
According to Marc Finaud, head of the weapons proliferation department at the Center for Security Policy in Geneva, Russia’s new silver bullet is just as fast as any of the other international nuclear powers’ ICBMs. As he spoke to the Swiss newspaper 20 minutes emphasized, the range of the rocket is greater at 16,000 kilometers. “It can also carry up to 15 nuclear warheads or hypersonic gliders that can reach a target without being detected and intercepted,” Finaud said.
Russia’s Satan II nuclear missile: What does Putin’s weapon mean for the Ukraine war?
The expert further explained: “In a global nuclear war, which would break out in the event of an escalation between Russia and NATO, probably no country could [in Europa] be protected from any form of radioactive fallout.” If major cities were destroyed by nuclear weaponry, the contaminated smoke would be in the atmosphere, leading to “a so-called nuclear winter that will cause famine.”
Such a state of catastrophe is of course an extreme scenario. But with his new “Satan II” rocket, Putin has succeeded in demonstrating his power once again, particularly during the war in Ukraine. “The real political value of the weapon is that Russia is showing that it is still a nuclear superpower. That [Putin] can compete and compete against the USA,” described a CNN-Foreign correspondent in Moscow the importance of the new rocket. (nz)
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