Satellite Images Suggest Russia Tested an ICBM (and It Turned Out to Be a Disaster)

A ballistic missile Sarmat Intercontinental Russia exploded during test, satellite images suggest captured by Maxar Technologies .

The files show a crater about 60 meters wide in the launch silo of the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region in the north of the country.

According to the agency Reuters the tests It was carried out in September 2024 .

Concretely, this would be an RS-28 Sarmat, a projectile designed to deliver nuclear warheads to targets thousands of kilometers away far.

The project analyst based in Geneva, Switzerland Russian nuclear forces Pavel Podvig said that “everything seems to indicate that it was a failed test”, since we see “a big hole in the ground” this was not shown in previously captured images.

On this last point, the researcher International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Timothy Wright said the destruction of the area surrounding the missile silo suggests that there was a problem shortly after ignition .

“A possible cause is that the first stage (the booster) failed to ignite properly or suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure which caused the missile to fall backwards or land very close to the silo and explode,” the expert said.

Weapons experts and open source researchers have commented on the Washington Post that It is still unclear whether the Sarmat failed during a launch or whether there was an accident during refueling. .

However, several specialists They agree that the satellite images reflect signs that there were unexpected problems during the test. Russian forces.

“The nature of the destruction suggests that the missile exploded in the silo.” Podvig stressed in an article published on his website.

The situation arises when Russia continues its military invasion of the territory of Ukraine which has been extended for more than two years since February 24, 2022.

Thanks to the support that the country headed by Volodymyr Zelensky received from its allies, The Kremlin has stepped up its threats against the West .

Even the chairman of the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – ​​Vyacheslav Volodin, warned in mid-September that “The flight time of the Sarmat missile to Strasbourg is 3 minutes and 20 seconds” .

“Russia will respond harshly with more powerful weapons “No one should have any illusions about this,” he wrote in a statement posted on Telegram.

His comments were a response to calls from some European leaders to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons for Ukrainian troops, who launched a cross-border incursion into the Russian region of Kursk on August 6.

At the end of August, the Kremlin’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that Western allies are ‘playing with fire’ by supporting Ukraine .

Along with this, he said that Europe and the United States would be involved in the outbreak of a possible third world war. and that they “clarify” their nuclear doctrine.

With the latter, Lavrov referred to the reasons that would lead President Vladimir Putin to consider using such weapons .

Although Putin has assured that Russia has the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, satellite images captured by Maxar raise some questions about their abilities .

The RS-28 Sarmat—also known as the Satan II— It is 35 metres long, has a range of 18,000 kilometres and a launch weight of over 208 tonnes. as reported by Reuters.

Russian State Media They claim that it can carry up to 16 nuclear warheads with independent targets, as well as a hypersonic glider. Avant-garde.

The Sarmat test program has faced numerous problems and delays over the years, to the point that it has only completed one successful flight test corresponding to April 20, 2022, as saved by the Washington Post.

Several of their tests were cancelled or delayed .

Initially, the Russian authorities They had announced that it would be ready in 2018 to replace the Soviet-era SS-18.

Nevertheless, The date has been postponed several times .

In October 2023, Vladimir Putin said he was almost done work around the missile.

The current former Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, had then assured that Sarmat was to constitute “the base of strategic nuclear forces” lands of Russia.

From the ISS expert’s point of view, a launch failure This does not necessarily mean that the missile project is under threat. not to materialize.

“However, this is the fourth consecutive failure of the Sarmat tests, which will, at the very least, delay its already delayed entry into service. and, at most, it could raise doubts about the viability of the program,” he told the aforementioned agency.

Following the release of satellite images of the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, September 23: They were not aware of an alleged failure of the Sarmat missile test. .

“We have no information about this. “This is rather a matter that falls within the competence of our military. So I recommend that you contact them,” the spokesman said.

Anyway, no statement was shared military on the files.