Russia this week successfully test-launched its new RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin described as “the most powerful in the world”. Speaking at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, Putin declared that Moscow would continue to modernise and expand its strategic nuclear forces, creating missile systems capable of penetrating all current and future missile-defence shields. The Sarmat, a heavy liquid-fuelled ICBM designed to replace the Soviet-era Voyevoda, completed its launch from a silo in southern Russia on 12 May. Western analysts note that the test was timed to project strength just days after Putin claimed the war in Ukraine was nearing an end.

Viewed from Washington, the official reaction has been muted. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that Russia notified the United States of the launch under existing bilateral protocols, but said Moscow had received no formal response from the White House. He added that the “lively reaction” in Western media suggested the significance of the test was well understood. In Beijing, the foreign ministry offered a terse acknowledgment — “we have taken note” — reflecting China’s general caution when commenting on its strategic partner’s nuclear activities. Analysts in London interpret the Chinese reticence as a sign that Beijing, while supportive of Moscow’s geopolitical posture, does not wish to be drawn into direct endorsement of nuclear brinkmanship.

Parallel to the military showcase, Putin addressed the decennial congress of the Union of Machine Builders in Moscow, where he reported that Russian industrial production had grown 12 per cent compared with the pre-sanctions level of 2021, with manufacturing output up nearly a quarter. He urged Russian enterprises to abandon the rigid separation of military and civilian production, to accelerate the adoption of technological innovations, and to study both domestic and foreign best practice. First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov claimed that the Sarmat’s technology outstrips Western equivalents by several years, a sentiment echoed by Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who called the test a “big leap forward”.

The Sarmat is scheduled to enter combat service by the end of 2026, with a reported range exceeding 35,000 kilometres, enabling it to approach targets over the South Pole and defeat missile-defence systems. The test launch was widely seen in Moscow as a response to Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from key arms-control treaties. Yet the international signal is as much about industrial resilience as about military capability. By linking nuclear modernisation to a broader narrative of import substitution and technological sovereignty, the Kremlin is attempting to reassure a domestic audience that the war economy is delivering strategic advantage. Whether this will alter the calculus in either Washington or Beijing remains uncertain; what is clear is that Russia has chosen to make its nuclear deterrent the centrepiece of a renewed claim to great-power status.