Russia test-fires new intercontinental ballistic missile, Putin calls it the world's best

Moscow: In a show of strength two months into its assault on Ukraine, Russia has test-launched a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday would make Moscow's enemies stop and think.

The long-awaited Sarmat missile had been test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away.

Sarmat is an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of nuclear charges.

The weapon can be deployed with 10 or more warheads on each missile.

The long-range missile has been in development since the 2000s.

The Sarmat is designed to elude anti-missile defence systems with a short initial boost phase, giving enemy surveillance systems a tiny window to track.

Weighing more than 200 tonnes and able to transport multiple warheads, Putin says the missile can hit any target on Earth.

"Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world," Russia's defence ministry said after the test.

"This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice," Putin said.

Dubbed Satan 2 by Western analysts, the Sarmat is among Russia's next-generation missiles that Putin has called "invincible," and which also include the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles.

Last month, Russia said it used Kinzhal for the first time in warfare to strike a target in Ukraine, where Russian troops have been engaged in a special military operation since February 24.