(Reuters) – Russia announced on Wednesday that it had carried out a test of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which Vladimir Putin presents as unique in the world and likely to give pause to those who would be tempted to threaten his country.
Television footage shows the Russian president with army officials after the missile was fired from Plesetsk in the northwest of the country towards the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, where the missile hit his targets.
If the test carried out by Moscow is not a surprise for Westerners, the Sarmat missile being in development for years, it intervenes in a context of strong geopolitical tensions born of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Moscow had warned the United States in advance of the imminence of the shooting, indicated the Pentagon, speaking of a “routine test”.
According to an institute of the American Congress, Russia intends to use ten or more warheads on each Sarmat missile.
“This new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of missile defense. It has no equal in the world and will not have one for a long time,” said Vladimir Poutine.
“This truly unique weapon will enhance the combat capabilities of our armed forces, reliably guaranteeing Russia’s security against external threats and giving food for thought to those who, carried away by frantic aggressive rhetoric, attempt to threaten our country,” he said. added the Russian president.
The Russian Defense Minister said in a statement that the missile had traveled a distance of nearly 6,000 kilometers.
(Report Mark Trevelyan London; French version Marc Angrand and Jean Terzian, told by Tangi Salan)