Putin puts ‘Satan II’ nuclear missile ‘on combat duty’ as Kyiv launches drone strikes

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Pskov Airfield: Sky glows orange during largest drone strike on Russian territory since war began Russia has put the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles – nicknamed Satan II – on combat duty, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said. The missiles are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty ‘soon’. It comes as a Ukrainian drone attacked a town in western Russia, home to one of the country’s biggest nuclear power stations, as Russian air defences intercepted drones heading toward three western regions. Regional governors said defence systems stopped three drones in the Kursk , Belgorod and Moscow regions. Governor Roman Starovoit said a Ukrainian drone had damaged the facade of a building in the town of Kurchatov, just a few kilometres from the Kursk nuclear power station, early on Friday. He had earlier said there were two drones but clarified his remarks. ‘There are no casualties,’ Mr Starovoit said. He did not mention any potential damage to the Kursk nuclear power plant. 1693575242 The massive drone attack across multiple regions of Russia into Wednesday marked Ukraine ‘s largest attack on Russian soil since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion 18 months ago. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is one of 25 such attacks on Russia during August as Kyiv increases its attempts to ‘bring the war home’ to Russia and destroy equipment that would be used on the frontline in Ukraine. The MoD believes that Russian air defences are likely having difficulty detecting and destroying the drones , given the number of drones hitting their targets. While the Ministry of Defence says Russia is likely struggling with detecting Ukrainian drones – a number of a US-made counter-drone launcher have arrived in Ukraine and are being used by Kyiv’s troops Eleanor Noyce 1 September 2023 14:34 1693573824 The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday that a partnership between the Russian and Chinese leaders worried him, adding, ‘We have never seen a threat this large scale to Europe and the Pacific, I would argue, since World War II.’ An alliance between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘provides a very big challenge I think for the free world in this great power competition that we find ourselves in,’ Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said during a visit to Sweden. The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee says a partnership between the Russian and Chinese leaders worries him, calling it the biggest threat to Europe and the Pacific since World War II Eleanor Noyce 1 September 2023 14:10 1693572940 Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed a total of 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over the western regions of Russia, indicating the scale of the drone war now under way between Russia and Ukraine. ‘281 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed, including one Tu-141 Strizh, as well as 29 Ukrainian UAVs in the western regions of the Russian Federation,’ the ministry said on Friday. Russia for its part has repeatedly struck Ukraine with waves of one-way drones with explosive payloads, which are far cheaper than missiles and can be difficult, and expensive, for air defence systems to intercept. Ukrainian aerial drone strikes deep inside Russia have increased since two drones were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Drone strikes on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months. A Ukrainian drone on Friday attacked a town that is home to one of Russia’s biggest nuclear power stations, though no damage to the plant was reported, Russian officials said. It is unclear whether the drone attacks will affect perceptions of the war among the population in Russia, where public statements of opposition are treated as civil or criminal offences. Eleanor Noyce 1 September 2023 13:55 1693571894 Two cargo vessels have left a port near Odesa, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said on Friday – the third and fourth to transit from deep-water Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea since Russia withdrew from a safe-passage deal for grain ships. Oleksandr Kubrakov said the Liberia-flagged Anna-Theresa and Marshall Islands-flagged Ocean Courtesy bulk carriers had left the port of Pivdennyi through a temporary corridor for civilian vessels. Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the U.N.-backed Ukrainian grain deal in July. In response, Ukraine announced a ‘humanitarian corridor’ hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Two vessels stuck in Ukrainian ports during the invasion have thus far been able to use it to leave. Kubrakov’s ministry, responsible for Ukraine’s infrastructure, said in a Facebook post that the Anna-Theresa had been in port since 22 February 2022, and the Ocean Courtesy from 16 February of the same year. LSEG interactive map data showed the two vessels more than 10 km (6 miles) from the shore on Friday, under way using their engines and heading south-east. The Anna-Theresa and Ocean Courtesy were, respectively, carrying 56,000 metric tons of pig iron and 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate, Kubrakov wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, who is from Odesa, posted on the Telegram app on Friday that two ships were seen near the city. He posted a photograph showing two distant ships. Reuters could not immediately verify the date or location of the photo. The grain agreement had allowed Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, to ship tens of millions of tons of produce to other countries during Russia’s invasion. Eleanor Noyce 1 September 2023 13:38 1693570256 Russia has said that Moscow’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nicknamed ‘Satan II’ – capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads – has been rolled out on ‘combat duty’. The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said that the missiles had entered active duty, the state-run news agency RIA reported. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty ‘soon’. Prior to that, defence committee deputy chairman Aleksey Zhuravlyov had used it as a threat when he was interviewed by state broadcaster TV Russia 1 in May regarding Sweden and Finland ‘s aspirations towards joining Nato in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year, while Sweden is still waiting to be ratified. Vladimir Putin hasa repeatedly tried to talk up the specifications of the RS-28 Sarmat Eleanor Noyce 1 September 2023 13:10 1693569658 One man was killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Friday and three people were wounded in a missile attack in the central region of Vinnytsia overnight, Ukrainian authorities said. The 34-year-old man was hit in a residential area of Kherson close to 12:50 p.m. local time (0950 GMT), the military administration there said. The three civilians were wounded when a Russian missile struck a business in Vinnytsia region, the regional governor said. ‘They are being provided with all necessary assistance,’ Serhiy Borzov wrote on the Telegram messaging service. Ukraine’s air force said it shot down a second missile fired overnight. The missile was downed over the central Kirovohrad region, the local governor said on Telegram. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 1 September 2023 13:00 1693566924 The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Friday that the country’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads, had been put on combat duty, state news agency RIA reported. It has been nicknamed Satan II. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty ‘soon’. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 1 September 2023 12:15 1693565207 The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Friday that the country’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads, had been put on combat duty, state news agency RIA reported. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Sarmat missiles would be deployed for combat duty ‘soon’. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 1 September 2023 11:46 1693562694 The UK defence ministry said Moscow is employing a range of underwater defence systems to prevent attacks following the Crimea Bridge explosion. The ministry said: ‘As of 29 August, imagery confirms Russia has created an underwater barrier of submerged ships and containment booms to deter against Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) attacks against the Crimean Bridge.’ Maryam Zakir-Hussain 1 September 2023 11:04 1693559961 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that he told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that online meetings held on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula in August were ‘unacceptable’. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 1 September 2023 10:19 Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in