Russia conducted its second nuclear-capable missile test in less than a week, President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday, even as he walked back previous claims that the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was already on combat duty.
The Kremlin released footage of Putin overseeing the test from the presidential residence, describing it as a planned command-and-control exercise for Russia’s strategic nuclear forces. The announcement came just days after Putin declared that the Sarmat would enter combat service by the end of 2026, a promise he has now softened considerably.
Putin said the Sarmat is not yet deployed in a public statement that contradicted earlier claims by Russian military officials. The admission represents a notable retreat from years of promises about the weapon’s imminent operational readiness. Since first unveiling the Sarmat in 2018, Putin has repeatedly assured Russians and the world that the missile would soon be fielded, only to see test after test delayed or fail.
Missile Designed to Replace Aging Soviet System
The RS-28 Sarmat, known by NATO as Satan II, is a heavy liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to replace Russia’s aging R-36M2 Voevoda system, which has formed a core part of Russia’s nuclear triad for decades. The weapon is intended to carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles with a total payload capacity of up to 10 tonnes.
Russian officials say the missile has an estimated range exceeding 18,000 kilometers and is designed to evade missile defense systems through advanced maneuverability and the ability to strike targets via south pole trajectories. Putin has claimed the missile’s warhead yield exceeds four times that of any Western equivalent, though Western analysts have questioned those figures.
The missile’s troubled development history includes a catastrophic silo explosion during a failed test in September 2024, which left a deep crater at the launch site according to Western satellite imagery. Before a successful test in May 2026, the only other confirmed successful launch had occurred in 2022.
Nuclear Governance Crisis Deepens
The tests come at a moment of unprecedented nuclear uncertainty. The New START treaty, the last major arms control agreement between Washington and Moscow, expired in February 2026, leaving no treaty-bound limits on U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapons for the first time since 1972.
Together, Russia and the United States control approximately 8,700 warheads, representing roughly 90% of the global nuclear arsenal. Without the verification mechanisms, deployment limits, and advance notification requirements that characterized the treaty framework, both sides are now free to expand and modernize their arsenals without transparency.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the situation as a grave turning point for international security, warning that the risk of nuclear weapon use is higher than at any time in decades. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the timing of the nuclear developments the worst possible, given ongoing conflicts and diplomatic tensions.
Nuclear Rhetoric Escalates
The tests also follow Russia’s October 2025 test of the Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo, another strategic weapon that Putin showcased during a hospital visit with wounded soldiers. That test prompted President Trump to order the Department of War to restart nuclear weapons testing, though it remains unclear whether that order has been implemented.
Russia has been steadily expanding its nuclear arsenal despite the war in Ukraine consuming enormous conventional military resources. In addition to the Sarmat, Russia has deployed Oreshnik intermediate-range missiles in Belarus and continues to develop the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon torpedo system.
The latest test raises questions about whether the accelerated nuclear modernization program is designed to compensate for conventional military losses or whether it represents a genuine shift in Russian strategic doctrine. Western analysts say the answer is likely both, with Moscow seeking to maintain nuclear deterrence while its conventional forces face growing pressure from Ukrainian strikes and Western sanctions on defense procurement.
With no arms control framework in place and both Washington and Moscow signaling willingness to expand their nuclear capabilities, the world faces a strategic landscape that experts say has not been this unstable since the height of the Cold War.
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