Putin leads comprehensive nuclear drills and announces readiness of Sarmat orbital missile
Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised the activities of the third day of comprehensive and extensive nuclear exercises carried out by the Russian strategic forces, stressing that his country is moving forward in the development of the "nuclear triad" according to a systematic and rigorous plan based on precision and graduality to ensure the highest levels of operational readiness to face the growing security threats.
The intensive military exercises included various components of the Russian nuclear force, where Iskander-M medium-range tactical missiles were tested and are designed to carry nuclear warheads, in parallel with the flight of strategic bombers of the Air Force, and the mobilization of naval forces through its nuclear submarines equipped to launch torpedoes and atomic ballistic missiles underwater.
Orbital Sarmat enters service with a record range
The Russian president announced that the new strategic nuclear missile "Sarmat" will enter active service by the end of this year, describing it as "the most powerful in the world" following the success of its last launch test, and revealing in statements broadcast on state television that the missile's range exceeds the threshold of 35,000 kilometers, and with a destructive capability that exceeds its counterparts in Western systems.
Putin explained that the advanced missile system of "Sarmat" is not limited to conventional ballistic paths, but has the ability to fly through complex suborbital paths, giving the weapon extreme accuracy and superior ability to penetrate and bypass all existing and future missile defense systems owned by NATO.
NATO's Deterrence Messages and the Legacy of 2002
The Russian president linked this technological and military ambition to the sharp geopolitical transformations that followed the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, considering that the American exit forced Moscow to reformulate its national security equations to maintain the global strategic balance.
Despite this escalatory tone, Putin was keen to make it clear that nuclear weapons are not Moscow's first choice, but remain a deterrent tool and strategic calculations to reduce Western intervention in the war in Ukraine that has been raging since 2022.
Western skepticism and logistical failure reports
In this context, the Russian president received an official and photographed report from the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, Sergei Karakayev, confirming the success of the giant missile launch test, stressing that the introduction of this advanced system represents an extension of the previous Soviet deterrence capabilities such as the terrifying Voyvoda system, and strengthens Russia's protective ground arm.
Western analysts and military experts, on the other hand, have questioned Russia's official estimates of the new system's supernatural capabilities, arguing that the language of boasting has an exaggerated character to cover up a record of delays and technical failures that have accompanied the development of the missile over the past years, the latest of which was intelligence reports that a previous test failed that caused severe damage to the launch site.