Russia on Tuesday carried out a test launch of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin described the launch as a key part of Russia’s ongoing nuclear modernization. The test happened just days after Putin said the war in Ukraine approaching its final stage.

The Sarmat missile is meant to replace the older Soviet-era Voyevoda system and is expected to enter service by the end of the year. Russian officials say it is one of the most powerful nuclear missiles the country has ever built.

“This is the most powerful missile in the world,” the Russian President declared, claiming that the combined power of the Sarmat’s individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western weapon system.

Russia expands strategic nuclear modernization

Since 2000, the Russian leader has led a major upgrade of its nuclear forces, which include land-based missiles, submarines, and bombers. Moscow has added hundreds of new intercontinental ballistic missiles and introduced advanced submarines and bombers.

The country sped up these upgrades after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. During the conflict, Putin has often mentioned Russia’s nuclear strength and warned Western countries not to increase their support for Kyiv.

The Sarmat test came after Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on Saturday. This yearly event celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. For the first time in almost 20 years, the parade did not include heavy military equipment.

He later stated that the fighting in Ukraine was almost over, but he did not give a timeline or details about a possible settlement.

Sarmat missile built for long-range nuclear strikes

The Sarmat, which NATO calls “Satan II,” is a heavy intercontinental ballistic missile. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Defense Project, it can carry up to 10 tons of payload.

Development of the missile began in 2011. Before Tuesday, there had only been one publicly known successful test of the Sarmat. In 2024, reports said another test ended in a large explosion at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, and satellite images showed a big crater at the site.

The president said the Sarmat is more accurate than the older Voyevoda missile but just as destructive. He also said it can travel over 21,700 miles using suborbital paths, which could help it avoid future missile defenses.

In recent years, Russia has also introduced other strategic weapons. These include the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which Moscow claims can travel at 27 times the speed of sound, and the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a range of up to 3,100 miles.

Expired arms treaty raises new concerns

The missile test happened a few months after the last nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the United States expired in February. For decades, this agreement had limited the size of the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. has about 4,300 nuclear warheads, while Russia has around 3,700. Now that the treaty has expired, there are no formal limits on either country’s deployed strategic nuclear weapons.

This situation has made arms control experts worry about the chance of a new global nuclear arms race. Putin argued that Russia’s latest weapons programs were developed in response to U.S. missile defense systems that were introduced after Washington left a Cold War-era anti-ballistic missile treaty in 2001.