According to a senior Kremlin source, VLADIMIR Putin intends to deploy his menacing new Sarmat nuclear missile this autumn.

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “Satan-II” is capable of carrying ten or more nuclear warheads and is capable of striking targets in the United States and Europe. The report comes as a Russian member of parliament warned Boris Johnson that the UK had become a “prime target” for Moscow as a result of London’s unflinching military and political backing for Kyiv. After years of delay, Russia successfully tested its intercontinental ballistic missile last week, at a time when concerns of a nuclear war are growing.

According to Russian state television, Dmitry Rogozin, the Sarmat missiles would be based in the Siberian town of Uzhur, in the Krasnoyarsk region, some 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) east of Moscow.

They would be deployed no later than autumn and would be housed in the same silos as the Voyevoda missiles of the Soviet era they are to replace.

According to the president of Russia’s space agency, the “super-weapon” was a historic event that would ensure the country’s children and grandchildren’s security for the next 30-40 years.

Mr. Rogozin boasted about the Kremlin’s latest enhancement to its atomic arsenal’s potency and range.

He said: “This is a missile that is much more powerful than other strategic weapons, including the Minuteman-III missile, which is in service with the United States.

“Both in terms of global reach and the power of warheads that can be delivered to the territory of an aggressor.”

The Roskosmos head added: “This is a huge success for our designers and engineers. We are very proud.”

Sarmat is an intercontinental ballistic missile designed at the Makeyev State Rocket Center and manufactured by the Krasmash enterprise.

It has a top speed of 16,000mph and is capable of deploying several warheads at hypersonic speeds, making it extremely difficult to intercept.

The Sarmat will also be capable of launching the Avangard, Russia’s first hypersonic missile, capable of traveling more than ten times the speed of sound to the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Throughout his military operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made repeated veiled threats to use nuclear weapons.

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