Putin's 'doomsday' Satan-2 nuclear rocket hit by Western sanctions as mishap rocks Russia

Vladimir Putin's 'doomsday' nuclear rocket, known as Satan-2, has been hit by Western sanctions on its key parts. This comes as a video shows one missile system dramatically tipping over in an embarrassing accident.

The Sarmat rocket, called Satan-2 in the West, is already "in service with troops", Putin claimed in a direct threat to the West. He told Russians: "We will soon demonstrate them in the combat duty mode at their deployment bases."

However, there's growing evidence that this massive 208-ton nuclear weapon, which can travel at 15,880mph and is as big as a 14-story building, isn't ready for use yet. The world's biggest ballistic missile hasn't had its expected test flight over the South Pole.

• Vladimir Putin's 14 US targets in US he would likely aim for in nuclear war with West

• Putin will interfere in US election to help Donald Trump because he is 'Putin's last hope'

Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported: "The Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant is experiencing a serious shortage of electronic components for production of the strategic missiles. The electronics of the new RS 28 [Sarmat] missile system are largely of foreign origin and, due to sanctions, [they] are experiencing a serious shortage. Now all efforts are being made to somehow correct the situation with the supply of sanctioned electronics. "

This has affected Russian production of S-400 air defence missiles, used in the war with Ukraine. The report mentions that the powerful Satan-2 missile, which has ten big nuclear warheads, hasn't been tested very often, before being put into service last year.

"The missiles can be counted on one hand and it is unknown how they will behave during launches," the channel explained. Previously, there were talks about testing it by flying over the South Pole, but this hasn't happened yet.

Even Russia's own news agency TASS said last year that "even a truncated LCI [flight development tests], and assuming all launches are successful, would require several more launches, including via the South Pole". The only test that has been reported to have worked took place in April 2022.

A video has been shared showing a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defence missile system flipping over when its truck turned a corner too quickly in Sochi. This mistake happened near President Putin's holiday home by the Black Sea.

It is said that the missile truck was hurrying to guard Putin, who is supposed to visit Sochi soon. The mishap took place in the same area as his oppulent secret palace that is shrouded in mystery.

Kyiv military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko, from the Information Resistance Group, has said that Satan-2 "is unreliable and dangerous" after Putin's speech. He told RBC-Ukraine: "It's a very problematic missile", reports The Mirror Online . "The Russians couldn't manage these test launches.

"There were dozens of tests with constant error correction," Kovalenko said. The Sarmat-Satan-2 complex is set to replace the Voevoda - or Satan - missile which has been used since the 1980s. The R-36M2 Voevoda missile was tested no less than 17 times in the Cold War before it was put on combat duty.

The Pantsir-S1 air defense system is known to protect Putin's official homes and private palaces from potential Ukrainian kamikaze drones or missiles. In the past, this top-notch complex has been seen near Putin's homes in the mountain-and-sea resort Sochi, forest palace Valdai in northern Russia, and Novo-Ogaryevo, in the Moscow region.

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .