22 February 2023 , 17:16
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A blast-off explosion and trail in the sky was has been reported sparking claims a Vladimir Putin Satan-2 hypersonic missile test went wrong.
A new test of Putin’s giant 208-tonne nuclear-capable apocalypse rocket had been suspected as likely this month - but an explosion and trail in the sky has been spotted in Plesetsk military cosmodrome in northern Russia.
Satan-2 missile, also known as Sarmat in Russia, is said to be behind schedule and Putin’s inner circle is believed to fear “sabotage” over a delayed test schedule.
US sources told CNN that a test in recent days appears to have failed, without more detail of how or why it had gone awry.
This is seen as the reason President Putin made no mention of it in his major State of the Nation speech on Tuesday.
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Putin congratulates the defence ministry on the successful test launch of an RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin Pool/ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock)Instead Putin formally declared that Russia will suspend Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US.
A picture suspected to be taken on February 18 around 12.50pm local time shows a white trail low in a blue sky some 22 miles from Plesetsk, from where any Satan-2 test is expected to be launched.
Musksim, a resident in the area, told a local news outlet that he heard “such a huge blast”.
Yet the Russian Defence ministry did not announce any launch or respond to media requests for comment.
“There was a huge loud bang, and it went on rumbling for a whole minute,” said Musksim.
“I rushed outside to have a look, and didn’t see anything, but there was a trail very low in the sky.
The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Plesetsk in Russia's northwest (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"I could even see it being wiped away by the wind, and the thing I am most concerned about is that there is no information from Plesetsk cosmodrome."
Another local resident Sofia Danilova said she saw a similar trail on the same day over Arkhangelsk.
“The trail and the exhaust were a lot higher than what I see in this picture,” she said.
She did not hear a blastoff and said: “It certainly wasn’t a plane. We know how they fly and how they look.”
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On 9 February it was revealed that Putin was preparing an intercontinental ballistic missile test. Officials in remote districts of Kamchatka peninsula were warned about a test launch of a nuclear-capable strategic missile between 15 and 25 February.
It was to be targeted at the Kura test range and restrictions on movements for local residents were put in place in three districts.
The timing coincided with Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly on 21 February and the anniversary of the start of his invasion of Ukraine three days later.
Russian President speaking at a joint news conference after meeting with German Chancellor at Putin's residence (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In December, Putin conceded that Satan-2 - a missile that is the size of a 14 storey tower block which is capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads - had been delayed.
There had been promises it would be deployed by the end of last year, a deadline he missed.
He said on December 22: “In the near future, Sarmat ICBMs will be put on combat duty for the first time.
“We know there will be a certain delay in time but this does not change our plans – everything will be done.”
He did not explain the reason for the delay.
Rumours say “sabotage” may be behind delays in a number of new missile tests including Satan-2.
The first and only known test of this missile was announced to great fanfare as soon as it took place on 20 April, with Putin in touch by video-link. The silo-based Satan-2 launch was from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.