Moscow claims it will soon have 50 new advanced nuclear missiles capable of annihilating its enemies by the fall; a move by the Kremlin that the Washington Examiner says is a show of strength in the face of military blunders in Ukraine.
The head of Russia's state space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, warned Sunday that the NATO dubbed "Satan-2" missiles or Sarmat-2 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which measure 14 stories tall, will soon be combat-ready.
In a New York Post report, Rogozin, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, "I suggest that aggressors speak to us more politely."
On Sunday, Rogozin tweeted a video showing the impact of a blank Satan-2 at the Kura Missile Test Range in Russia's Kamchatka region. The crater measured 26 feet deep and 66 feet wide.
"When equipped with a nuclear warhead," Rogozin warned, "such a crater at an enemy target (geographic target) would be … very … very large and very deep and radioactive. And not just one, but exactly as many as the most powerful nuclear missile in the world will deliver to the territory of a hateful enemy."
Rogozin cautioned in February that Russia controls the International Space Station's engines, and if countries imposed sanctions, it could — at any time — crash the facility into the Earth. Putin said last month that the successful launching of the Sarmat-2 should make Russia's enemies "think twice" before threatening the country. The Russian Ministry of Defence has since hailed the missile as the most powerful and longest-ranged weapon in the world.
Two weeks ago, Rogozin said Russia could expunge Ukraine from the map. Putin has not ruled out the possibility of using nuclear arms against Ukraine.
In a Telegram post, Rogozin said, "NATO is waging war against us. It has not declared it, but it doesn't change anything. Now it's obvious to everyone. In a nuclear war, NATO countries will be destroyed by us in half an hour. But we must not allow it, because the consequences of the exchange of nuclear strikes will affect the state of our Earth."