MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday carried out a test of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with President Vladimir Putin announcing that the long-range nuclear-capable weapon would enter combat service by the end of this year.
The launch came months after the expiry of the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States limiting their strategic nuclear arsenals.
“This is the most powerful missile system in the world,” Putin said after receiving a report on a successful launch of the Sarmat missile, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Putin said the missile would be placed on “combat duty” before the end of 2026.
🇷🇺 On May 12, President #Putin received a report on the successful test of the Sarmat missile.
💬 With 35,000+ km range, enhanced accuracy & the ability to overcome all existing & future missile defence systems, Sarmat is a formidable deterrence asset.https://t.co/waBvSOHm7I pic.twitter.com/rBchrCce1r
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 12, 2026
The expiration of the New START treaty in February formally removed the last restrictions governing the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
Signed in 2010, the agreement imposed limits on deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems and included inspection and verification mechanisms between Moscow and Washington.
Although Russia and the United States agreed to resume high-level military dialogue shortly after the treaty expired, there have been no clear signs of negotiations to renew or replace the agreement.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for a broader arms control framework that would also include China.
Trump has largely remained silent on Russia’s repeated calls to extend the New START framework, while both Moscow and Washington have accused each other in recent years of violating aspects of the treaty.
Putin claimed the Sarmat missile’s warhead yield was more than four times greater than any Western equivalent, Reuters reported.
He said the missile had a range exceeding 35,000 kilometres and was capable of penetrating “all existing and future anti-missile defence systems”.
“It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Sarmat is the first “super heavy” intercontinental ballistic missile developed entirely in post-Soviet Russia.
Russian state television showed Strategic Missile Forces commander Sergey Karakayev reporting the successful test launch to Putin.
“The deployment of launchers equipped with the Sarmat missile system will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the ground-based strategic nuclear forces in terms of guaranteeing the destruction of targets and solving strategic deterrence problems,” Karakayev said.
