Russia Sent Clear Signal To US With Sarmat ICBM Deployment, Says Expert: 'Nuclear Option In Ukraine Remains On The Table'

Russia on Friday unveiled its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles in a strategic move that its President, Vladimir Putin, once claimed would make the world “think twice.”

What Happened: According to Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, the Sarmat strategic complex is now on combat duty, Fox News reported.

The missile system, also known as “Satan II,” was first introduced by Putin in 2018. It is designed to carry at least 10 nuclear warheads, replacing the R-36 ICBMs, also known as “Satan” by NATO.

"Based on experts' estimates, the RS-28 Sarmat is capable of delivering a MIRVed warhead weighing up to 10 tonnes to any location worldwide, both over the North and South Poles," the state-run TASS said in its report.

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Why It Matters: Rebekah Koffler, the president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting, stated Putin’s move was a clear message to the U.S. and NATO that the nuclear option remains on the table for Ukraine.

“Putin is clearly strategic messaging to the United States and NATO that nuclear option in Ukraine remains on the table.”

Putin “placed Russia's nuclear forces on a special combat regime shortly after he invaded Ukraine out of the fear that the U.S. and NATO may intervene on behalf of Ukraine. So, the fallback option is the so-called escalate to de-escalate strategy, which envisions a detonation of a tactical (small yield) nuclear warhead on the battlefield, to deter U.S./NATO intervention,” Koffler added.

Post Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin said Sarmat would ensure the security of Russia and make those threatening Russia “think twice.”

John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council spokesman, has yet to confirm these Russian reports as of Friday. The risk of “unintended escalation” is a significant worry among national security professionals, notes Koffler.

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