Overview
- Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, which announced Tuesday’s successful Sarmat launch, released test video as commander Sergei Karakayev reported the result to President Vladimir Putin on state TV.
- Putin called the silo-based RS-28 Sarmat the world’s most powerful missile and claimed suborbital flight, a range beyond 35,000 km, and a combined warhead yield over four times Western equivalents.
- Russian officials said the first regiment equipped with Sarmat will go on combat duty by the end of 2026 in the Uzhur formation in Krasnoyarsk Krai.
- Independent analysts dispute the stated range and estimate closer to about 18,000 km, noting the program’s setbacks that include a 2024 silo explosion shown by satellite images and only one prior known successful test.
- The test comes after the New START treaty expired in February 2026, and experts warn the lack of limits could speed a looser US–Russia strategic arms buildup.