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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Tim Hanlon

Russia 'tested intercontinental ballistic missile as Joe Biden visited Ukraine'

Russia tested an intercontinental ballistic missile believed to have been around the same time Joe Biden was in Ukraine, it is reported.

It is thought that Vladimir Putin had planned to highlight the test during his State of the Nation speech on Tuesday but it failed to launch correctly.

Russia did contact the US through deconfliction lines to advise it of the launch, an official source told CNN.

Another official also told the news outlet that the launch would not have meant a risk for the United States and it had not been viewed as an escalation.

It had always been a possibility that Putin would seek a launch of his giant 208-tonne hypersonic Satan-2 apocalypse missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, ahead of the anniversary of the Ukraine invasion.

An intercontinental ballistic missile test reportedly failed on Monday (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service)

CNN sources said that the failed missile launched last Monday, either shortly before or when Mr Biden was in Ukraine.

Russian officials in remote districts of Kamchatka had been warned at the end of last year to be ready for a test launch of a nuclear-capable strategic missile between February 15 and 25.

And Russian military insiders had said they expected the launch to be a test of the dubbed "unstoppable" Satan-2 - known to Russians as Sarmat - after unexplained delays in the development and deployment of Putin’s "big beast" weapon.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden on Tuesday warned of "hard and bitter days ahead" as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark, but vowed that no matter what, the United States and allies "will not waver" in supporting the Ukrainians.

A day after his surprise visit to Kyiv, Mr Biden used a strongly worded address in neighbouring Poland to praise allies in Europe for stepping up over the past year and to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire."

The missile test is believed to have taken place around the time Mr Biden was in Ukraine (Ukraine Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

"One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv," Mr Biden said before a crowd of thousands outside Warsaw's Royal Castle. "I can report: Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall and, most important, it stands free."

With Russia and Ukraine each preparing spring offensives, Mr Biden insisted there will be no backing down from what he's portrayed as a global struggle between democracy and autocracy - though polling suggests American support for ongoing military assistance appears to be softening.

"Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever," Mr Biden declared. The US and allies will "have Ukraine's back."

Mr Biden's speech came a day after his unannounced trip to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and walked the city streets as an air raid siren blared.

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