Fears Rise Over Russia's Potential Use of Tactical Nukes in Ukraine; Vladimir Putin's Aide Says New ICBM Test Is a Gift to NATO, Kyiv Sponsors

Vladimir Putin issued a chilling message to the West yesterday when he successfully test-fired his terrifying 'Satan II' missile.

The nuclear-capable Sarmat RS-28 is reported to be the world's longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of attacking a target 11,200 miles away. Putin called the launch a major, historic event for Russia's military, claiming that the weapon is capable of defeating all current defense systems. The United States, on the other hand, regarded the tests as normal and downplayed any worldwide danger.

Russia's Test Launch of Sarmat ICBM is "Routine" Missile Launch

The missile's practice warheads were launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and hit targets 3,600 miles away at the Kura firing range on the Kamchatka peninsula. It can deliver a payload large enough to destroy an area the size of France if fully equipped.

Despite the timing, which comes as Western countries vow more heavy equipment to help Ukraine, the Pentagon claimed it had notice from the Kremlin that the missile would be launched. Initial testing of the missile took conducted in 2017 and the first full-scale launch was delayed from December before Russia invaded Ukraine. The RS-28 Sarmat is intended to replace the R-36, which NATO dubbed the SS-18 Satan.

It can fly at speeds of up to 16,000mph and release several warheads and other missiles at hypersonic speeds, making it incredibly difficult to destroy. It will be able to fire the Avangard, Russia's first hypersonic missile, which can travel at more than 10 times the speed of sound at the top of the Earth's atmosphere.

Colonel-General Sergey Karakayev, the chief of Moscow's strategic missile forces, has pledged to continue developing hypersonic weapons. The timing of yesterday's test, according to Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute military think-tank, was just posturing by Putin ahead of Russia's Victory Day on May 9 when the Kremlin displays its weaponry, Daily Mail reported.

Following the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the United States conducted a test-fire of a missile. The Minuteman III ICBM was postponed because US officials feared Russia would misinterpret such a show of might and use it as a reason to escalate hostilities in Ukraine.

According to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's political sensitivity, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, along with several other world leaders, walked out of a closed-door Group of 20 meeting in Washington when Russian officials began to speak.

A Treasury Department official said earlier this week that Yellen would use the meeting "to voice our strong condemnation of Putin's brutality" and make it clear that such gatherings are reserved for countries that demonstrate respect for the core principles that underpin peace and security around the world."

Because of the Ukraine invasion, Wimbledon excluded tennis players from Russia and Belarus from competing in the major annual competition, which begins in June, a move that would affect two of the world's top-ranked players. According to the All England Club, Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who is rated second in the world, and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who is ranked fourth, will not be allowed to compete.

Biden Administration Worries Abut Putin's Provocative Actions

While the Pentagon said the launch was not a threat and that the Kremlin had given the US advance notice, the New York Times reports that it underscores the Biden administration's growing concerns that Putin now sees little downside to provocative actions because of Russia's isolation following the invasion of Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated on Monday that Russia's long-awaited attack in the Donbas area has begun, ushering in a crucial second phase of the war centered on a struggle for land in eastern Ukraine.

In an interview with India Today on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also indicated that the Kremlin was starting a new stage in its invasion of Ukraine, saying that it would be "a very critical time," according to The Washington Post via MSN.