Claim in May 2026: “Putin again promised to put the ‘Sarmats’ on combat alert. Such statements have been made for several years, but the missiles have still not been deployed.”
Source of the claim: iStories (May 12, 2026)
Unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his 2018 speech to the Russian Federal Assembly, the Sarmat ICBM was first expected by Putin to be deployed by late 2022. In his April 2021 address to the Federal Assembly, Putin said that the “the first regiment armed with Sarmat super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles is scheduled to go on combat duty in late 2022.” While a flight test of the missile was completed in April 2022, the deadline for deployment was not met.
Between April 2021 and May 2026, Putin and other administration officials have made at least 13 statements asserting that the Sarmat missile system will soon be deployed, including an April 21, 2021, promise to have Sarmat go on combat duty in late 2002; a Dec. 16, 2021, promise by commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Karakayev to have the first regiment of the first Sarmat division in Uzhur operational by the end of 2022; a Sept. 1, 2023, statement by Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov that Sarmat had already been placed on combat alert; and nine separate assertions by Putin that the Sarmat will be deployed “soon,” “in the near future,” “by the end of the year” or “this year.”
Below, you will find a table cataloguing the instances where Russian officials have made claims regarding when the Sarmat will be deployed.
| Date | Speaker | Claim / Promise |
|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2021 | Vladimir Putin | “Standing on combat duty are the latest Avangard hypersonic intercontinental missile systems and the Peresvet combat laser systems, and the first regiment armed with Sarmat super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles is scheduled to go on combat duty in late 2022.” (Kremlin.ru, 04.21.21) |
| Dec. 16, 2021 | Sergei Karakayev (Commander, Strategic Missile Forces) | “The objective is to have the first regiment of the first division in Uzhur operational by the end of 2022. I believe this objective will be achieved.” (RIA Novosti, 12.16.21) |
| June 21, 2022 | Vladimir Putin | “A successful test of the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile was conducted. The first such system is expected to be operational by the end of the year." (TASS, 06.21.22) |
| May 22, 2022 | Dmitry Rogozin (then-head of Roscosmos) | “We will soon have almost 50 of these Sarmats on combat duty.” (RBC, 05.22.22) |
| Dec. 21, 2022 | Vladimir Putin | “In the near future, Sarmat ICBMs will be put on combat duty for the first time. We know there will be a certain delay in time, but this does not change our plans – everything will be done.” (Kremlin.ru, 12.21.22) |
| Feb. 23, 2023 | Vladimir Putin | “This year, the first launchers of the Sarmat missile system, carrying a new heavy missile, will enter combat duty.” (Interfax, 02.23.23) |
| June 21, 2023 | Vladimir Putin | “The first launchers of the Sarmat system with a new heavy missile will soon go on combat duty.” (RT, 06.21.23) |
| Sept. 1, 2023 | Yuri Borisov (Head of Roscosmos) | “The Sarmat strategic missile system has been placed on combat alert.” (RIA Novosti, 09.01.23) |
| Oct. 7, 2023 | Russian Ministry of Defense (statement issued during Sergei Shoigu's visit to the Krasmash plant, Krasnoyarsk) | “The first production missiles [of Sarmat] are currently being manufactured at the facility, and they will be deployed to combat duty in the very near future. Construction, installation and commissioning work on the units and systems of the silo launchers and the command post are in the final stages at the positional area of one of the units." (RIA Novosti, 10.07.23) |
| Feb. 29, 2024 | Vladimir Putin | “The first production Sarmat heavy ballistic missiles have also been delivered to the troops. We will soon demonstrate them in combat duty areas.” (Kremlin.ru, 02.29.24) |
| Oct. 29, 2025 | Vladimir Putin | “There's no other missile in the world like the Sarmat. We don't have one on duty, but we will soon.” (Interfax, 10.29.25) |
| Nov. 4, 2025 | Vladimir Putin | “This year, we will deploy the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile system into combat testing, and next year, into combat duty.” (Kremlin.ru, 11.04.25) |
| May 12, 2026 | Vladimir Putin | “The Sarmat will indeed be placed on combat duty by the end of this year.” (Kremlin.ru, 05.12.26) |
Endnotes
- Sarmat has remained plagued by problems despite these promotions. IISS analyst Timothy Wright was quoted by Reuters in 2024 as saying that the Sarmat had experienced four successive test failures (although only two have been confirmed), with the most recent being a large explosion at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome testing site in September 2024.
Fact-check completed by Ray Morgan and Angelina Flood.
