MOSCOW, RUSSIA / EuroWire / — President Vladimir Putin said Russia had successfully test-fired the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday and that the weapon would enter combat service by the end of 2026, marking Moscow’s latest public step in the modernization of its strategic nuclear forces. In televised remarks from the Kremlin, Putin described Sarmat as the most powerful missile in the world and said it was designed to reinforce Russia’s land-based nuclear deterrent.
Putin said the missile’s warhead yield was more than four times greater than that of any Western equivalent and said it could travel more than 35,000 kilometers and penetrate current and future missile defense systems. Those descriptions were presented by Putin as characteristics of the system during the announcement. Russian Strategic Missile Forces commander Sergei Karakayev separately reported what he described as a successful launch and said deployment of Sarmat launchers would strengthen the combat capabilities of ground-based strategic forces.
State media footage showed Karakayev briefing Putin by video link, while video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry showed the launch from an undisclosed site. Russian officials did not identify the launch location in the initial announcement. The missile is intended to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda system, which has long formed part of Russia’s heavy intercontinental ballistic missile inventory. Putin said Sarmat matched that system’s power while offering higher precision and a faster boost phase.
Program history and deployment
The test followed years of delays in the Sarmat program. Development of the missile began in 2011, and before Tuesday only one successful test had been publicly known. In September 2024, satellite imagery and arms analysts indicated that a previous Sarmat test likely failed at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, leaving major damage at a launch silo. Russian officials did not publicly confirm that failure, but Tuesday’s announcement presented the latest launch as evidence that the program had advanced.
The Sarmat is a heavy, liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile and is one of several strategic systems that Moscow has highlighted since 2018 as part of a wider nuclear modernization drive. Russian officials say the weapon can carry multiple warheads and is built to strike targets at intercontinental range. Tuesday’s announcement kept the focus on the missile’s planned entry into service by year-end rather than on a fuller technical breakdown from either the Kremlin or the Russian Defense Ministry.
Broader strategic context
The launch came as Russia continued to emphasize the role of its nuclear forces amid its confrontation with the West over Ukraine. Putin has repeatedly pointed to Russia’s strategic arsenal since the start of the war in 2022, and Tuesday’s statement tied the Sarmat program directly to the country’s broader deterrence posture. Karakayev said the deployment of launchers equipped with the missile would improve the effectiveness of ground-based strategic forces in carrying out deterrence tasks.
For Moscow, the Sarmat test was presented as both a military milestone and a signal that a long-delayed weapons program is nearing operational deployment. The immediate facts released on Tuesday were limited but clear: Russia said the launch succeeded, Putin said the missile would enter combat service by the end of 2026, and officials again cast Sarmat as a central element in the next phase of Russia’s heavy intercontinental ballistic missile force.