Russia tried and failed a test launch of its new “Satan II” intercontinental ballistic missile while Joe Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, according to a report.
Moscow was said to have tested the 200-tonne Sarmat missile system, which can carry a dozen nuclear warheads and strike anywhere in the world, while the US President was meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Monday.
Russian officials warned Washington through so-called deconfliction lines that the launch would be going ahead, US officials told CNN.
In his speech later that day, Mr Putin declared that Russia would be suspending its participation in the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Russia had previously tested an ICBM last November. Military analysts have said it could reach London in as little as 13 minutes if it was based in Russia’s extreme west.
The Russian president has previously boasted his new missile, officially known as Sarmat, would “give thought to those who are trying to threaten Russia”.
It comes as Mr Biden was due to meet eastern European leaders on Wednesday, a day after vowing Russia would never see victory in Ukraine.
© 2023, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Be the first to comment