Putin says Russia’s ‘Satan II’ nuclear missile successful in test, ready for deployment by year end

By emmitt barryWorthy News Washington DC Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia has successfully test-fired its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile – codenamed “Satan II” by NATO – declaring it the world’s most powerful missile and saying it will enter combat service by the end of 2026.

The Sarmat is designed to replace Russia’s aging Soviet-era Voyevoda missiles, a heavy ICBM system long considered one of the most formidable components of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal. Putin said the new missile carries an individually targeted warhead with four times more combined destructive power than any Western counterpart, although Western analysts have warned that some of Russia’s claims about its latest strategic weapons may be exaggerated.

“This is the most powerful missile in the world,” Putin announced, presenting the test as a major milestone in Russia’s long-running effort to modernize its nuclear triumvirate of land-based missiles, nuclear submarines and strategic bombers.

Moscow says the Sarmat is capable of suborbital flight, giving it a range of more than 35,000 kilometers, or about 21,700 miles, and allowing it to approach targets from unexpected directions in an effort to bypass current and future missile-defense systems. Russian officials also claim that the missile is more accurate than the Voyevoda while retaining comparable destructive power.

The announcement comes at a dangerous moment for global security. The last remaining nuclear arms-control agreement between the United States and Russia expired in February, leaving the world’s two largest nuclear powers without formal limits on their strategic arsenals for the first time in more than half a century.

Putin has repeatedly touted Russia’s nuclear capabilities since ordering a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has used Moscow’s strategic arsenal as a warning to the West against deeper military involvement in the conflict. His latest missile announcement comes just days after he claimed that the war in Ukraine is nearing an end.

However, the development history of the Sarmat program has been troubled. Work on the missile began in 2011 and had only one publicly known successful test before Tuesday’s launch. Western experts said a failed test in 2024 caused a large explosion and left a crater at the launch site.

Putin first unveiled the Sarmat in 2018 as part of a new generation of Russian strategic weapons he said would render US missile defense ineffective. Other systems in that portfolio include the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, the Orasonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile.

Putin also said Russia is in the “final stages” of developing the Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile. Poseidon is designed to detonate near an enemy coastline and trigger a radioactive tsunami, while Burevestnik is powered by a miniature nuclear reactor that Moscow claims gives it virtually unlimited range.

Russian officials argue that the weapons are a response to U.S. missile-defense developments after Washington withdrew in 2001 from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a Cold War-era agreement that limited missile-defense systems. Moscow has long claimed that a US missile shield could undermine strategic parity by leading Washington to believe it could avoid a nuclear exchange.

“We are 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 equality,” Putin said.

The latest test is likely to deepen Western concerns about a renewed nuclear arms race, especially as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues and diplomatic channels between Moscow and Washington remain strained.

For the West, the Sarmat launch is not just a weapons test. It is a warning shot from the Kremlin determined to remind the world that, despite battlefield losses, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation, Russia still has one of the most dangerous nuclear arsenals on Earth.

For believers watching world events unfold, this moment is another sobering reminder that nations may boast of weapons, alliances, and power, but ultimate security does not lie in missiles or military might. The scriptures warn that there will be “wars and rumors of wars” in the last days, yet also remind believers not to get disoriented. God remains sovereign over kings, kingdoms and history.

lift it up in prayer

12

People are praying right now.

latest lol news