War observers and news media estimate based on satellite images that Russia may have tested an intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile.
A strange crater has been discovered at a military base in northern Russia.
The crater was spotted on September 21 satellite images. The crater appears to have appeared on the training ground of the Plesetsk military base in Arkhangelsk.
The crater has been reported by, for example, the Russians Radio Svoboda and a Russian opposition newspaper Medusa.
Senior researcher at the UN Disarmament Research Institute Pavel Podvig suspects, based on a satellite image, that the crater may be the result of a failed Russian weapons test.
Podvig writes in X that the size of the crater suggests that Russia tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.
Also the one after the war Telegram channel suspects that the crater may have been created as a result of a failed weapons test.
The update states that NASA’s satellite surveillance alerted of a large fire in the area at the same time as the satellite images were taken.
Sarmat is a missile that uses liquid fuel. It is estimated in social media that the accident could also have happened separately from the launch, i.e. when unloading fuel, for example.
What is Sarmat?
The RS-28 Sarmat, developed by Russia, is an intercontinental ballistic multi-warhead missile.
In the NATO military alliance, it is known as Satan 2.
The range of the missile is said to be 18,000 kilometers.
Sarmat can carry 10–15 nuclear warheads. The cargo can also be a combination of nuclear warheads and anti-missile obfuscation devices. The tips can change their direction of flight after leaving the rocket.
the president of Russia Valdimir Putinin according to Sarmrat is a weapon without equal.
The Russian media has talked about Sarmat as a weapon that can wipe Texas or France off the face of the earth at once.
British newspaper The Telegraph the American researcher interviewed estimates that in 2022, the Russian Sarmat might be the single most destructive weapon in the world.
Russia has been developing the missile since 2009.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia conducted a successful weapons test on Sarmat in April 2022.
In February 2023 CNN said citing his sources that the President Joe Biden During the visit to Ukraine, Russia tried to launch a Sarmat missile, but failed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has denied the claims.
In September of last year, the Russian Space Agency Trash space announced that Russia has adopted the Sarmat for combat use. It has not been possible to confirm the claims.