Russia test-launches nuclear-capable missile to warn enemies [Video]

• Russia test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat, on Wednesday.
• The United States was informed ahead of the launch, in accordance with the New START treaty.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the military on the launch, saying it would “give thought to those who are trying to threaten Russia.”

Russia’s defense ministry released footage of its test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat, on Wednesday.

The missile was launched from a silo at the Plesetsk State Testing Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region, an area in western Russia around 1,640 miles north of Moscow, at 3:12 p.m.

The missile traveled toward the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula, which sits along the Bering Sea, before landing in a “designated area” in Kamchatka.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said later on Wednesday that the United States was informed ahead of the test, so “we were not surprised by it and did not deem it to be a threat to the United States or allies.”

Both the U.S. and Russia are obligated to notify each other ahead of time about any plans to conduct a test launch of intercontinental-range weapons, per the New START treaty.

Kirby stated that the Defense Department’s focus remains on “Russia’s unlawful and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.”

According to the Russian defense ministry, the weapon would go into service with the nation’s Strategic Missile Forces after completing the Sarmat test program.

Back in March 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin touted his country’s new missile system, saying that it has the ability to render any U.S. missile defense system “useless.”

More recently, Putin warned that the West had “failed to contain Russia” despite issuing several sanctions.

State-run TASS news agency quoted Putin congratulating the military on the test launch on Wednesday. The Russian president said the missile launch would “give thought to those who are trying to threaten Russia.”

A senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Wednesday that Putin’s remarks were unhelpful, especially “given the current context of things.” He added, “Certainly, it’s not the kind of thing that we would expect from a responsible nuclear power.”

Source: The Hill