Russia test-fired its new 'Son of Satan' ICBM to threaten the West during its Ukraine war

• Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Russian military for successfully test-launching a new ICBM.
• The "Sarmat" ICBM, dubbed the "Son of Satan" for its destructive power, was successfully launched Wednesday by the Russian military.

Russia's military test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile during the Ukraine war, adding to its already considerable arsenal, in a demonstration Russian leader Vladimir Putin used to take a shot at the US and the Western coalition opposing his invasion of Ukraine.

The first launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile "Sarmat" was carried out Wednesday by Russian military forces, Russian state agency TASS reported. It was tested at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, TASS reported.

Putin congratulated the military on the successful test.

"This is a great, significant event in the development of promising weapons systems for the Russian army," Putin said, TASS reported.

Russia notified the US of the ICBM test launch in accordance with the New Start treaty, but its rhetoric and choice to go ahead with the treaty stands in stark contrast to the US, which had canceled an ICBM test-launch in March not long after Russia began its war on Ukraine. Putin and his aides have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in what experts believe to be a ploy to warn powerful countries like the UK, Germany and the US from coming to Ukraine's aid.

"This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our Armed Forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice," Putin said.

This liquid-fueled ICBM, dubbed the "Son of Satan" because it will replace the SS-18 "Satan," is expected to carry 10 to 15 Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles, or MIRVs, each of which can carry multiple nuclear payloads and can range sites in Europe or North America. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists assesses the ICBM could eventually carry hypersonic glide vehicles still in development that aim to evade all existing missile defenses such as those fielded by the US.

The US also fields ICBM missiles, such as the Minuteman III, that can strike targets in Russia and create the expectation of mutually assured destruction — a leading reason why a nuclear-armed country has never attacked another nuclear power.

Putin said the Sarmat missile was created with only domestic parts which will simplify production of the combat weapon in the future, TASS said. The missile will go into service once its completed the test program.

Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, told Insider that in many ways, the Sarmat is "a sort of Cold War throwback."

"We thought Russia would get rid of these giant missiles with so many warheads after the end of the Cold War, and the fact that Russia is actually replacing one system with another, it sort of signals that a lot of the Cold War thinking about nuclear deterrents is obviously still with us," he said.

Lewis added that the Sarmat test points to a larger global issue — the acceleration of the nuclear arms race.

"The Cold War was worrying, the fact that we didn't eliminate the systems after the Cold War was worrying, and the fact that the arms race is accelerating again is worrying, but it's not just this test," Lewis said, "it's the entire system of basing our security on the threat of mutual destruction that should be worrying."

Translations by Nikita Angarski.