Russia issues dire warning over potential Western arms use in Ukraine
The agreement allowing Ukrainians to use Western weapons on Russian territory remains a topic of debate among Kyiv's Western allies. Moscow is striving to prevent this and has now issued threats to use the SS-18 "Satan" missile, which can reach Strasbourg, France, in approximately 3 minutes and 20 seconds, according to Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, as quoted by the Ukrainian agency Unian.
Russia intends to respond forcefully, using more formidable weapons, Volodin claims, in response to the European Parliament's call for Ukraine to be permitted to use Western weapons to target sites deep within the Russian Federation. "No one should have any illusions about this," he insisted, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
Russian politician warns Europe
As reported by the Unian agency, the Russian politician directed two questions to members of the European Parliament. One question concerned whether the decision to grant strike permission was potentially discussed with voters. Volodin also queried whether Europeans wanted "the war to come to their homes."
"Before making such a decision, they should remember the lessons of World War II (...). For your information: the flight time of the Sarmat missile to Strasbourg is 3 minutes 20 seconds," Volodin warned.
Volodin mentions the RS-28 "Satan," a three-stage liquid-fuel missile with a length of 35 metres and a mass of 229 tonnes. It can carry ten heavy and 15 lighter nuclear warheads over 18,000 kilometres. Its performance enables it to reach up to 25,000 kilometres per hour, equivalent to roughly 7 kilometres per second. Upon launch, the missile can operate in the air for several hours and perform manoeuvres, making it exceedingly difficult to intercept with anti-missile defence systems.
The RS-28 missile's power is so immense that its strike could level areas the size of the entirety of France or the state of Texas in the USA. Russia is the only country possessing this type of weapon.
