Satan II missile soon ready for deployment, says Putin

Russia plans to boost its army to 1.5 million troops and is preparing to deploy a new intercontinental ballistic missile, President Putin has said.

In a speech to defence chiefs in Moscow, Putin vowed to spare no expense to support the military as Russia wages war on neighbouring Ukraine. “We have no funding restrictions,” he said. “The country and the government are providing everything that the army asks for.”

He said Russia’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would soon be ready for deployment, a weapon he has previously boasted can overcome any western defences. The missile, dubbed Satan II by Nato, has been in development since the 2000s, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

Denis Maydanov, a rock singer and an MP with Putin’s ruling party, recently released a slick music video hailing the Sarmat. The lyrics to the song, Sarmatushka, were written by Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Maidanov sings: “From Mother Russia, the Sarmats stare into the distance at the United States.”

Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, told Putin the army would be strengthened by an additional 350,000 troops. He did not specify how or when the target would be reached, but said Russia would form new units in the country’s west in view of plans by Finland and Sweden to join Nato.

Over 300,000 people have been drafted into the Russian army since the Kremlin announced a nationwide mobilisation in September. The move sparked the exodus of hundreds of thousands of men of fighting age. Putin said in October the draft was over but no official decree was issued. Moscow is thought to be planning to draft a total of one million people to fight in Ukraine.

The bullish rhetoric from Moscow came as President Zelensky headed to Washington for talks with President Biden, his first overseas trip since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February. The White House announced a new military support package for Ukraine which includes a Patriot missile defence system.

Reacting to the news of Zelensky’s visit, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that continuing weapons supplies to Kyiv “does not bode well for Ukraine”.

Putin appears keen to prepare Russians for a long-lasting war. The conflict will reach the ten-month mark on Christmas Eve. In his speech on Wednesday, he acknowledged Russia’s military setbacks and claimed that he welcomed constructive criticism.

“It is clear that the reaction of people who see problems — and there are always problems in such major, complex work — can be emotional,” he said. “We need to hear those who do not hush up the existing problems but strive to contribute to their solution.”

Putin’s comments came after he had described the situation in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as “extremely complicated”.