Putin threatened the West and announced the entry into service of his most powerful intercontinental missile

MOSCOW: Amid growing tensions with the West, the Russian president, Vladimir Poutine, today warned his foreign rivals that if they cross the Russia’s “red line” the answer will be immediate and hard. In addition, he reported that the misil intercontinental RS-28 Sarmat it would be in service in the near future.

In his annual State of the Nation address, the president issued a strong threat to those who mistake his “good intentions for weakness” by saying that he hopes that “no one has the idea of ​​crossing a line red with Russia “, because the answer will be “asymmetric, fast and hard”.

“We will decide for ourselves where (this line) goes,” he said, in the context of an intensified confrontation between Moscow and Western countries over the deployment of Russian troops on the border with the Ukraine and the American sanctions in Russia for cyber attacks.

“Overall, our behaviors of prudent forma y modesta, a menudo incluso sin responder a las acciones inamistosas o incluso a groserías flagrantes”, dijo Putin, quien consideró que en los últimos días “atacar a Rusia por cualquier cosa se ha ha convertido en una especie sport”.

Despite his strong messages, the president made no explicit reference to the European Union or the United States, or to the events that have fostered an escalation of tensions in recent weeks. The Kremlin dismisses the West’s concern about the concentration of troops on the border with Ukraine and says that is free to deploy his army wherever he deems necessary on its territory.

He also did not mention the opponent Alexey Navalny, who is imprisoned and in poor health after three weeks of hunger strike. Navalny’s allies have called for protests across the country to express their support for him.

Putin announced that by the end of 2022 Russian armed forces will incorporate heavy ICMs RS-28 Sarmat, with a range of 18,000 kilometers and a weight of over 200 tonnes, nicknamed “Satan-2” by NATO.

“The advanced Avangard ICBM systems and Persevet combat lasers have already been put into operational service, while the first regiment fully equipped with heavy ICBM Sarmat will enter service at the end of 2022, as planned,” announced the Russian Federal Assembly.

In addition, he added that they were working to include other state-of-the-art combat systemssuch as a nuclear powered underwater drone and a nuclear powered cruise missile.

Reuters, AFP and Telam agencies

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