Putin says Russia will deploy 'most powerful' Sarmat nuclear missile this year

Vladimir Putin says Russia will deploy the world's "most powerful" nuclear missile at the end of this year.

He said the Sarmat missile had a yield more than four times that of any Western equivalent and a range exceeding 21,750 miles (35,000km).

"It has the ability to penetrate all existing ​and future anti-missile defence systems," he said in televised comments.

State TV showed missile force commander Sergei Karakayev reporting to the Russian president on what he said was a successful ⁠test on Tuesday.

"The deployment of launchers equipped ​with the Sarmat missile system will significantly enhance ​the combat capabilities of the ground-based strategic nuclear forces ​in terms of guaranteeing the destruction of targets and ⁠solving strategic deterrence problems," Mr Karakayev said.

The deployment comes after years of delays and setbacks, including a test launch in 2024 that left a deep crater at the launch silo, according to Western experts.

Analysts also say Mr Putin has exaggerated the capabilities of some of Russia's new breed of nuclear weapons - part of a modernisation programme he started in 2018.

On multiple occasions since the start of the Ukraine war, the Russian president has raised the spectre of using nuclear weapons as a deterrent to greater Western intervention in the conflict.

His threats have been dismissed by many as sabre rattling, given the matching response a Russian nuclear strike would likely provoke.

Regardless, the Kremlin continues to maintain the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, according to some monitors.

The Federation of American Scientists last year estimated it had nearly 5,500 warheads, with just over 1,700 deployed and ready for use.

Mr Putin's comments on the Sarmat missile came as the Kremlin released footage of him driving in Moscow and presenting one of his old school teachers with flowers in a hotel lobby.

The video was released after Western media, citing European intelligence reports, claimed security around the president had been tightened, and he now spends weeks in bunkers due to fears of an assassination attempt or coup.

Russian officials rubbished the reports and today's video appears to be an attempt to rebut the claims.

Mr Putin also said this week that he believed the Ukraine war was coming to an end after more than four years, claiming "victory has always been and will be ours".

He made the comments after a very scaled-back Victory Day parade, which took place amid a three-day ceasefire.

However, an end to the war still appears distant: meaningful negotiations have dried up and the frontline has largely been frozen for months due to the ever-present threat to both sides from drones.

(c) Sky News 2026: Putin says Russia will deploy 'most powerful' Sarmat nuclear missile this year