Putin says Russian nuclear triad will be armed with ‘most powerful’ Sarmat missiles soon

Russia’s mission of putting on combat duty its intercontinental ballistic missiles Yars, Avangard and Sarmat besides supplying the nuclear forces with strategic missile carriers continues in full force even as Ukraine pushes on with its counteroffensive to recapture the lost territories.

Addressing a gathering of graduates of military universities at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the most important task right now is the development of the nuclear triad, which is a key guarantee of the country’s military security and global stability.

“Already about half of the units and formations of the Strategic Missile Forces are equipped with the latest Yars complexes, and the troops are being re-equipped with modern missile systems with the Avangard hypersonic warhead,” Putin told the fresh graduates from the universities and academies of the country’s Ministry of Defence, the Federal Security Service, the Russian Guard, etc.

“In the near future, the first launchers of the Sarmat complex with a new heavy missile will take up combat duty,” he added emphasising that the strengthening and development of Russia’s army and security remains the government’s “unconditional priority”.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Sarmat is the “most powerful missile” with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world and surpasses all existing types of intercontinental ballistic missiles in its characteristics.

It will significantly increase the combat power of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces which have been using the stationary heavy-class Voyevoda missile system.

The missile is capable of hitting targets at long ranges using a variety of flight paths and has unique characteristics that allow it to reliably overcome any existing and future anti-missile defence systems.

A product of Russian industrial cooperation, the range of missile combat equipment has been fundamentally expanded both in terms of the number of warheads and types, including planning hypersonic units.

“Weighing more than 200 tonnes, it has a shortened active flight segment, has increased capabilities to overcome anti-missile defence, and is capable of carrying warheads of large mass and enormous power,” the Russian Army said back in 2018.

On Wednesday, Putin stated that the arsenals of the aviation and naval components of the Russian strategic nuclear forces are also being replenished. Earlier this year, Russia’s state-of-the-art multi-role frigate Admiral Gorshkov, now equipped with the “unstoppable” Zircon hypersonic missiles
entered combat duty.

“Arming the Russian nuclear triad makes it possible to effectively and reliably provide strategic deterrence and maintain a global balance of power. This is an expression of the results of the colossal long-term work of our enterprises, design bureaus, workers and engineers, military and civilian specialists,” said the Russian President in his speech to the young graduates.

Analysts also not rule out Russian missiles being placed in Belarus as both Moscow and Minsk have agreed on moving tactical nuclear weapons to the territory of Belarus without violating the nuclear non-proliferation regime.