The Russian military said it has successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin claims would make the West "think twice" about any aggressive intentions against Russia.
he test launch of the Sarmat missile comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine and underlines the Kremlin's emphasis on the country's nuclear forces.
Russia's Defence Ministry said the Sarmat ICBM was launched on Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads have successfully reached mock targets on the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
It said the launch was fully successful, proving the missile's characteristics "in all phases of its flight".
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that Russia had given the US an advance notice about the launch in line with the New Start nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.
"Russia properly notified the United States under its New Start obligations that it planned to test this ICBM," he said.
"Such testing is routine. It was not a surprise. We did not deem the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies."
Speaking to senior officials, Mr Putin hailed the Sarmat launch, claiming that the new missile has no foreign analogues and is capable of penetrating any prospective missile defence.
"This really unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia's security from external threats and make those, who in the heat of frantic aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country, think twice," Mr Putin said.
Amid the new Western sanctions that banned the exports of high-tech products to Russia and specifically targeted its arms industries in response to Moscow's action in Ukraine, Mr Putin emphasised that the Sarmat is built exclusively from domestic components.
"Of course, this will simplify the serial production of the system by enterprises of the military-industrial sector and accelerate its delivery to the Strategic Missile Forces," he added.
The Sarmat is a heavy missile that has been under development for several years to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which was code-named Satan by the West and forms the core of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
"The Sarmat is the most powerful missile that has the highest range in the world, and it will significantly bolster the capability of the country's strategic nuclear forces," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the Sarmat is capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicles along with other types of warheads. The Russian military had previously said that the Avangard hypersonic vehicle could be fitted to the new missile.
The military has said that the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp manoeuvres on its way to target to dodge the enemy's missile shield.
It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday's test as a "present to Nato" in a comment on his messaging app channel.
Mr Rogozin said the Sarmat is set to be commissioned by the military this autumn after the completion of its trials, calling it a "superweapon".
Biden lauds US military
President Joe Biden on Wednesday lauded U.S. military officials for “exceptional” work arming Ukraine as he gathered the nation's military brass for their first in-person group meeting at the White House of his presidency.
It's an annual tradition that had been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic but is now being resurrected as the U.S. arms Ukraine to help it fight back against Russia's invasion.
Biden has already approved more than $2.6 billion in military assistance for Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He is expected to announce additional security assistance, including artillery and ammunition, in coming days.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve been to Ukraine a number of times before the war ... and I knew they were tough and proud but I tell you what: They’re tougher and more proud than I thought,” Biden told military commanders. "I’m amazed at what they’re doing with your help.”
Biden brought together the Pentagon’s top civilian and uniformed officials amid the most serious fighting in Europe since World War II. Russia’s nearly two-month-old invasion of Ukraine was at the center of wide-ranging talks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and combatant commanders.
Biden also used the gathering to reflect on his administration's efforts to diversify Pentagon leadership. Hicks is the first Senate-confirmed woman to hold her role. Biden also chose Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost of the Air Force as commander of United States Transportation Command and Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson of the Army as commander of United States Southern Command. They are just the second and third women to lead combatant commands.
“It’s an important milestone," Biden said. “I think that speaks to how we’re harnessing the strength and diversity of our country.”
Later on Monday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden were hosting the military leaders and their spouses for dinner in the White House Blue Room.
Such a gathering was last held in October 2019. Donald Trump was president at the time and was facing a House inquiry that would lead to his first impeachment, which centred on allegations that he withheld military assistance from Ukraine as part of an effort to pressure the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to dig up dirt on Biden's adult son's business dealings in Ukraine.
Walkout
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko walked out of a Group of 20 meeting Wednesday as Russia's representative started talking.
Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according an official familiar with the meetings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the event was not public. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative spoke, the person said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Yellen's walkout: “Certainly we support her steps and it’s an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage.”
The incident came amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance leaders try to tackle the world's most pressing issues. The brutal effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine have taken center stage, and Treasury Department officials said earlier this week that Yellen would try to avoid contact with Russians who plan to attend some G-20 virtually.
President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, an international body of the world's biggest economies that promotes economic cooperation between countries. Indonesia is the host country for G-20 summit in November.
Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's finance minister, when asked about Russia's participation in the G-20 and the about the walkout, said that the multilateral forum is a place to “express the views of all members and invitees."
Psaki reiterated the administration's position that "we can’t have business as usual” at the G-20 and other international forums when it comes to Russia.
‘Maximal cruelty’
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Russia’s full attack on Ukraine's east and south is as cruel as it could be to produce even a small victory.
Speaking in his nightly video address, he said the battles for Mariupol, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and other eastern and southern cities “will decide the fate of our people and the fate of our freedom.”
“The situation in the country’s east and south remains maximally cruel. The occupiers won’t leave out any attempt, in their large-scale offensive, to score any kind of victory that they could feed to their propagandists,” he said.
Zelensky said his government is working “24/7” to get Western countries to expedite arms shipments, and that he's "very happy to say, with guarded optimism, that our partners have started to better understand our needs.” He added that the aid is coming “not in weeks, not in a month, but quickly, now, when Russia is trying to activate its attack.”
Other developments
- Ukraine proposed talks with Russia over evacuating troops and civilians from the southeastern port of Mariupol, with about 1,000 civilians trapped at a steel plant where Ukrainian forces are making their last stand.
- World Bank President David Malpass said the food security crisis caused by the war was expected to last months and perhaps into next year.
- Ukraine called on the Red Cross to establish contact with what it said were 500,000 people deported from Ukraine to Russia.
- President Putin called for structural changes in Russia's metallurgical industry to counter Western sanctions he said were starving it of some components and restricting its ability to sell some goods abroad.
- Wimbledon has barred all Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tennis championships, a decision which was swiftly condemned by the men's and women's tours.
- Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's eastern border continues and fighting in the southeastern Donbas region is intensifying, a British military said.
- Russian-backed separatists said five soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant had surrendered after a Russian ultimatum, a day after Russia said no-one had responded to a similar call.
- Ukraine's deputy prime minister said an agreed humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from Azovstal had not worked as planned, blaming Russian forces.
