Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this week that Russia could deploy its newest nuclear missile, dubbed Satan II by NATO, that could reach the UK in just three minutes. Putin issued the threat while addressing graduates from Russia's military academies on Wednesday.
Officially known in Russia as "RS-28 Sarmat", Satan-2 is believed to be one of the most destructive nuclear weapons in the world and doesn't have a competition. Putin also said that Russia will continue to boost its military arsenal following damage suffered during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and praised his soldiers for fighting "like heroes."
Big Threat
Putin's big threat comes amid Russia's escalating tensions with the West. The Russian strongman said that the 14-story-tall intercontinental ballistic missiles have no competition in the world. He also threatened to use them by the end of this year.
'Successful testing of the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile has been carried out. It is planned that the first such complex will be put on combat duty by the end of the year," he said during the meeting with military graduates.
The first Satan-2 test launch was revealed by Russia in April, and a month later, Dmitry Rogozin, the president of Roscosmos, the country's national space agency, declared that 50 of the new missiles would soon be in the arsenal of the country.
"I suggest that aggressors speak to us more politely," Rogozin had threatened at the time.
On Wednesday, Putin once again made similar threats as he issued a warning to the West. The lethal weapon, according to him, is one of the "highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense."
He also said the rest of the world has no comparable weapon, and will not have anything similar "for a long time to come."
Strengthening His Arsenal
With a range of between 6,200 and 11,800 miles and the ability to carry ten or more nuclear bombs and decoys, Satan-2, first introduced in 2018, would give the Kremlin the ability to strike targets anywhere on the planet.
The Kremlin threatened to use Satan-2 missiles to hit Finland, the UK, and the United States after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto indicated his nation's desire to join NATO in May. "If Finland wants to join this bloc, then our goal is absolutely legitimate — to question the existence of this state. This is logical," said Aleksey Zhuravlyov, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament's defense committee.
"If the United States threatens our state, it's good: Here is the Sarmat [Satan-2 missile] for you, and there will be nuclear ashes from you if you think that Russia should not exist," he added. "And Finland says that it is at one with the USA. Well, get in line."
Even this week, Evgeny Buzhinsky, a retired Russian lieutenant general, said on state television that if World War Three breaks out, the UK will "cease to exist."
The current tension is around Western nations blockading Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, in an effort to stop Lithuania, a NATO member, from delivering commodities to the region that have been sanctioned by the EU.
Although Lithuania has imposed a travel ban, Russia has demanded that Lithuania lift it and warned that if the ban is not lifted completely, "Russia reserves the right to take action in defense of its national interests". Russia is still able to supply Kaliningrad by sea without violating EU sanctions.
