Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Kremlin is reportedly working to deploy the world’s “most powerful” warhead as the war in Ukraine continues.
This comes after Putin last week admitted a loss in the Russia-Ukrainian war for the first time since launching his “special military operation” in Ukraine last year.
“We have ten times fewer losses than the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he told pro-Kremlin journalists and war bloggers in an intimate personal briefing. “We are well aware of all the NATO forces and resources that they have been using against us over the course of the special military operation.”
On Wednesday, the Russian leader laid out his plans to change the tides of the war, including bolstering “the combat readiness of [Russia’s] nuclear triad.”
“It is the main guarantee that our sovereignty and territorial integrity, strategic parity and the general balance of forces in the world are preserved,” Putin said in an announcement.
Putin championed Moscow’s arsenal of Avangard hypersonic warheads and pledged to keep developing hypersonic missiles with “unique characteristics, unmatched in the world.”
He also said that Russia would soon be prepared for “combat duty for the first time” with the RS-28 Sarmat, also known as Satan II by Western officials, though he did not provide a timeframe.
“In early January of next year, the Admiral of the Soviet Fleet Gorshkov frigate will start combat duty,” he added, noting it will carry sea-based hypersonic missiles “without equal in the world.”
Putin’s admission of loss is nonetheless startling when compared to the alarming discussion over the comparatively small number of Western tanks lost by Ukraine during the recent counteroffensive.
“We know that there are no small things on the battlefield, so you need to pay special attention,” he said to his defense officials. “I want to emphasize it once again: medical kits, food, dry rations, uniforms, footwear, protective helmets, body armour — everything should be at the most up-to-date and highest level.”
“Everything that a fighter uses should be cutting-edge, convenient and reliable, and the supply should correspond to their actual needs,” Putin continued. “If some ministry standards are outdated, they need to be changed — and quickly.”
