🇷🇺 President of Russia – Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin received, via videoconference, a report from Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Karakayev on the successful test of the Sarmat missile (May 12, 2026)

💬 Vladimir Putin: Work to improve Russia’s deterrence capabilities was resumed in the early 2000s and has never stopped since.

Frankly speaking, Russia had no time for it back then. The country was going through a very difficult period in its history. But after the US withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, we were forced – and I want to emphasise this – to think about ensuring our strategic security in the new reality and preserving the strategic balance of forces, parity.

☝️ That is why – let me stress this once again – Russia began developing advanced systems with no global equivalents, capable of reliably overcoming both existing and future missile defence systems.

We are implementing, step by step, the nuclear forces development programme adopted in this regard. In 2004, work began on the Avangard intercontinental-range missile system, which has been on combat duty since 2019.

Then came the Kinzhal, an air-launched intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which has been on combat duty since 2017. It is already being used in the special military operation, but work to improve it continues – including efforts to increase its accuracy when fitted with a non-nuclear payload.

Since 2025, the Oreshnik ground-based medium-range missile system has been placed on combat duty. It can also be equipped with nuclear warheads.

Work is nearing completion on two systems powered by compact nuclear propulsion units: the unique Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle and Burevestnik global-range cruise missile.

👉 Now, the Sarmat. Its development began in 2011. In 2018, the project and the advantages of Russia’s new advanced missile systems, including Sarmat, were publicly announced. Let me recall what was said at the time – and what gives our newest system its edge.

First, it is the most powerful missile system in the world, matching the power of the Voevoda missile system currently in service with us, which, as has just been said, is still of Soviet manufacture. The total yield of Sarmat’s delivered warhead is more than four times greater than that of the most powerful existing Western counterpart.

Second – and this is the key point – the missile can fly not only along a ballistic trajectory, but also along a suborbital one.

Third, this makes it possible to ensure an operational range of over 35,000 kilometres, while also doubling its accuracy characteristics and, finally, enabling it to overcome all existing and future missile defence systems.

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