Russia's Easter Present for NATO: Successfully Launches New 'Satan 2 Missile'

According to the British newspaper Sunday Express, Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated his war of words against the West yesterday into “war games.” “In a show of force,” the newspapers continues, “the Russian president demonstrated his fearsome new Sarmat missile.”

Fearsome it is, indeed. The missile travels at 20 times the speed of sound and can carry up to 12 nuclear warheads f0r 6,000 miles. Because of this, NATO has dubbed the missile “Satan 2.”

The successful test launch is shown in what the Express calls an “Easter message” from the Kremlin. In the footage, the Satan 2 emerges from an underground silo, then hovers shortly above the ground, only to speed away in a cloud of smoke.

According to Putin, the newly developed missile can hit any target in the world. “No defense systems will be able to withstand it,” he said during his yearly state-of-the-nation speech earlier in March in what was clearly a threat (or at least a warning) to the West.

Shortly after the article about the missile test was published by the Express, the Russian embassy in London responded to it. The one thing they focused on? The part about the video being an “Easter message.” Since the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter later than Catholics and Protestants do, that is not correct, the embassy says.

Dear @Daily_Express, we are celebrating Easter next week. Please do a bit of research. pic.twitter.com/gJW9UAIn67

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) March 31, 2018

Regardless, the main point of the newspaper’s report stands: tensions between NATO and Russia continue to escalate. Most fascinating, perhaps, is the fact that this missile’s tech is truly impressive. The U.S. was able to defeat the Soviet Union in the Cold War because of its technological and economic advantages. With regards to the latter, the U.S. has nothing to be worried about. But as for the former? Well, let’s just say that there’s obviously a reason why NATO is dubbing the missile “Satan 2.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is clearly impressed.