Russia tests nuclear-capable ICBM that Putin says will make foes ‘think twice’

Intercontinental ballistic missile test comes at a time of extreme geopolitical tension

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Russia said on Wednesday it had conducted a first test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal that President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow’s enemies something to think about.

Mr Putin was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the country’s north-west and hit targets in the far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula.

The Sarmat has been under development for years and so its test-launch is not a surprise for the West, but it comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension due to Russia's eight-week-old war in Ukraine.

“The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defence. It has no analogues in the world and won’t have for a long time to come,” Mr Putin said.

“This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country.”

A sign that reads 'Children' is fixed on to a car windscreen riddled with bulletholes in Irpin, Ukraine. AFP

A woman weeps next to her husband's coffin at a cemetery in Irpin. AFP

Residents walk amid debris of a charred Russian tank next to destroyed houses in the village of Zalissya. AFP

Volunteers distribute food to residents in Zalissya. AFP

A man walks past a damaged apartment building in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Tamara, 71, cries in front of a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol. Reuters

Local residents push a cart with a child past destroyed buildings in Mariupol. Reuters

A record player sits among debris inside an apartment in Mariupol. Reuters

Residents carry belongings past a destroyed building in Mariupol. Reuters

Security guards help an injured man following a Russian bombing of a factory in Kramatorsk. AP

A man receives first aid treatment. AP

Soldiers collect explosives after recent battles in the village of Moshchun, close to Kyiv. AP

The Komodor logistics park lies in ruins after being bombed and burnt during the Russian invasion near Makarov. Getty Images

A room in a kindergarten stands windowless in Makarov. Getty Images

A vehicle draped with a Ukrainian flag passes over a war-damaged bridge in Makarov. Getty Images

A man sits in a basement that was used as a bomb shelter in the village of Kukhari. EPA

Local residents clean the area around a destroyed farm in Kukhari. EPA

Nadia looks at her husband's coffin at a cemetery in Bucha. He was killed during the war. AFP

Mangled buildings in Irpin point to the ravages of the ongoing war. Getty Images

A burnt apartment tower in Irpin. Getty Images

Family members grieve during the funeral of Ruslan Nechyporenko, 47, in Bucha. Getty Images

An abandoned Russian military position in Borodyanka town near Kyiv. EPA

Heavily pregnant Dr Marta Kopan, who fled Kyiv with her husband Dr Maxim Motsya and their three-year-old son Makar, narrates their ordeal at a relative's place in Lviv. AP

A Ukrainian officer searches for unexploded explosives as he passes by an Antonov An-225, the world's biggest cargo aircraft, destroyed during the war on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

A woman stands amid the destruction caused when a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile in Lviv, western Ukraine. Getty Images

Ukrainian soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier, near the front line with Russian troops, in Izyum district, Kharkiv region, north-eastern Ukraine. AFP

Ukrainian refugees arrive at the Siret border crossing between Romania and Ukraine. AFP

Ukranian soldiers in a trench look out across the front line near Kharkiv. AFP

Cars destroyed in Russian attacks, in Irpin, near Kyiv. The scene of fierce fighting, the town was occupied by Russian forces. Reuters

Damaged and destroyed vehicles at Illich Iron and Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists in besieged south-eastern city Mariupol. AP

Russian military vehicles in an area controlled by Moscow-backed separatists near Mariupol. AP

An elderly woman waits do be evacuated from a hospice in Chasiv Yar city, in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. At least 35 residents have been helped to flee from the region that has been under attack for weeks. AP

A Ukrainian Interior Ministry serviceman collects unexploded shells, grenades and mines, following fierce fighting in Hostomel. AP

The Sarmat is a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile that Moscow is expected to deploy with 10 or more warheads, according to the US Congressional Research Service.

Launching the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Mr Putin made a pointed reference to Russia’s nuclear forces and warned the West that any attempt to get in its way would “lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history”.

Days later, he ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on high alert.

“The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on March 14.

In a statement, Russia’s defence ministry said the Sarmat was fired from a silo launcher at 3.12pm Moscow time (12.12pm UTC), and that the training warheads reached a test range on Kamchatka in the Pacific, a distance of nearly 6,000 kilometres.

“Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the longest-range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of our country’s strategic nuclear forces,” it said.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said Russia had notified Washington of the test beforehand.

It said the launch was routine and was not being treated as a threat to the US.