Putin's regime has announced it will deploy the fearsome nuclear-capable 'Satan II' missile it recently tested in a show of strength by autumn, in a further ratcheting of tensions between Russia and the West as Moscow redoubles its brutal war on Ukraine.
The Sarmat missile is said to be the world's longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of striking a target 11,200 miles away - meaning it could easily strike targets in the US and Europe.
Western military experts said the Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys - easily enough to wipe out Britain or France in a single strike.
However, analysts believe the target revealed by Dmitry Rogozin, head of Putin's Roscosmos space agency, is an ambitious one because Moscow reported its first test-launch only on Wednesday and more tests will be needed before the missile can be deployed.
This week's test, after years of delays due to funding and technical issues, marks a show of strength by Russia at a time when the war in Ukraine has sent tensions with the US and its allies soaring to their highest levels since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Rogozin said in an interview with Russian state TV that the missiles would be deployed with a unit in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, about 1,860 miles east of Moscow. He said they would be placed at the same sites and in the same silos as the Soviet-era Voyevoda missiles they are replacing, something that would save 'colossal resources and time'.
The launch of the 'super-weapon' was an historic event that would guarantee the security of Russia's children and grandchildren for the next 30-40 years, Rogozin added.
Western concern at the risk of nuclear war has increased since Putin launched his illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
When the Russian tyrant burst into the former Soviet state, he made a reference to his nation's nuclear deterrents, warning the West that any major intervention would 'lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history'.
Russia has test launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile, its Defence Ministry announced
Putin said the unmatched Sarmat missile will provide 'food for thought for those who try to threaten Russia'
Putin watches a test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region, via video link in Moscow, Russia, April 20, 2022
Russia's Roscosmos space agency Director General Dmitry Rogozin is seen before President Vladimir Putin's annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, Russia, January 15, 2020
Last month United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned: 'The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility.'
