@sbsnews_au: Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country's new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is more than four times more powerful than any Western equivalent, with a range exceeding 35,000km. "It has the capability to overcome all existing and prospective missile defence systems," he said. Putin praised a successful test launch of the missile this week, saying it would enter combat service by the end of this year. The Sarmat is part of a range of new weapons revealed by Putin in 2018 that he claims would render any US missile defenses useless. President Putin has also said the weapons are partly a response after the US withdrew from a Cold War-era pact that limited missile defenses. Putin has repeatedly used the threat of nuclear warfare since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022 as a deterrent to the West from providing additional support. Read more @sbsnews_au (link in bio).