Ukraine-Russia war live: Moscow suffers ‘catastrophic failure’ after firing ballistic missile named ‘Satan II’

By The Independent (World News) | Created at 2024-09-24 03:55:19 | Updated at 2024-09-30 09:40:22 6 days ago

Volodymyr Zelensky again urges West to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles

Related: Ukraine’s attack is only way to force Russia to negotiating table, Zelensky aide says

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Russia appears to have suffered a "catastrophic failure" in a test of its Sarmat missile, a key weapon in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal, according to arms experts who have analysed satellite images of the launch site.

The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month.

The RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known in the West as Satan II, is designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe, but its development has been dogged by delays and testing setbacks.

Timothy Wright, research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, said the destruction of the area immediately surrounding the missile silo was suggestive of a failure soon after ignition.

"One possible cause is that the first stage (booster) either failed to ignite properly or suffered from a catastrophic mechanical failure, causing the missile to fall back into or land closely adjacent to the silo and explode," he told Reuters.

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Situation tense around Russia’s Kursk plant, says UN nuclear chief

The situation remains serious around Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant, UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi said, but his agency planned no permanent mission at the site.

Part of Kursk remains under the control of Ukrainian troops, who poured over from the border last month. They are still some 40km (25 miles) from the nuclear facility, however.

“(The situation) is serious in that a military incursion has taken place and that incursion has reached the stage that it is not that distant from a nuclear power station,” said Mr Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He had visited the Kursk plant, made up of four reactors, last month and said it would be “extremely exposed” if it came under attack as the facility had no containment dome – a safety feature found in all modern nuclear facilities protecting the reactor.

In his comments to RIA, made in New York ahead of debates at the UN General Assembly, he said he hoped favourable circumstances would mean he would not have to visit the plant again.

“I hope there will be no need to return to the Kursk station as that would mean that the situation has stabilised,” he said.

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Northrop Grumman plans ammunition plant partnership in Lithuania

Lithuania has signed a memorandum of understanding with Northrop Grumman Corporation for the development of an ammunition plant in the Baltic country that could also benefit Ukraine, the government and U.S. arms maker said in a joint statement on Monday.

The collaboration would boost Lithuania’s domestic defence industry and minimise the reliance on long supply chains, the government said, without giving any details of locations, time scales or financing.

“We hope that the cooperation with our American allies will strengthen the country’s security and preparedness, while also benefiting the wider region, including Ukraine,” Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said in a statement.

Steve O’Bryan, corporate vice president and global business development officer of Northrop Grumman said the collaboration was in keeping with the company’s commitment to “supporting U.S. and allied countries through industry partnerships across the globe”.

The project, to be developed with state-owned ammunition manufacturer Giraite Armaments Plant, is expected to produce middle-caliber ammunition, according to the statement.

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