- Images show mysterious ballistic launch in Astrakhan region
Vladimir Putin issued a new warning to the West with the alleged test of an experimental missile with nuclear capability.
The images show the mysterious intercontinental ballistic launch from the Kapustin Yar test range in the Astrakhan region.
The Russian Defense Ministry declined to reveal the type of missile, but it was launched from a mobile ground-based missile system.
Russians living in Orenburg, Astrakhan and Volgograd described seeing a “strange object” moving across the sky, with some describing it as a “space jellyfish.”
Bewildered locals captured videos of the missile that were later widely shared on social media.
Vladimir Putin issued a new warning to the West with the alleged test of an experimental missile with nuclear capability
Images show the mysterious intercontinental ballistic launch from the Kapustin Yar test range in the Astrakhan region
The launch was carried out as part of a state program to test future missile systems, and those in service, at a time of high tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
“The objectives of the launch were fully met,” the ministry said, without giving further details.
A launch on the same day a year ago was believed to be a test of a new version of Putin’s Topol range, now known as Topol-ME.
Residents of the Astrakhan, Dagestan and Volgograd regions noticed unusual white tracks in the sky.
The Russian Defense Ministry declined to reveal the type of missile, but it was launched from a mobile ground-based missile system.
Bewildered locals captured videos of the missile that were later widely shared on social media.
Russians living in Orenburg, Astrakhan and Volgograd described seeing a “strange object” moving across the sky, with some describing it as a “space jellyfish.”
The launch occurred late on April 12, a date that Russia celebrates as Cosmonautics Day, commemorating the day in 1961 on which Yury Gagarin made the world’s first space flight.
The mystery missile in the new launch is not believed to be the Sarmat – or Satan-2 – which appears to be affected by testing delays.
This is intended to be the largest missile in Putin’s nuclear arsenal, described as a 208-tonne “unstoppable” apocalyptic weapon, launched from an intercontinental silo at 25,000 km/h, the size of a 14-storey tower.
Before properly entering service, it is expected to be tested at the South Pole.
The Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported last month: ‘The Krasnoyarsk machine-building plant is experiencing a serious shortage of electronic components… for the production of strategic missiles.
‘The electronics of the new RS 28 [Sarmat] missile system are largely of foreign origin and, due to sanctions, [they] They are suffering from serious shortages.
“Now every effort is being made to somehow correct the situation with the supply of authorized electronic products.”