Russia suffered a major setback during an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test after a launch at the Yasny firing range, in the Orenburg region, ended in an explosion just seconds after liftoff.
The projectile climbed between 200 and 400 meters before detonating in mid-air, creating a toxic purple cloud visible from a distance.
The incident occurred at one of Russia’s most sensitive strategic facilities: the Yasny launch site, which hosts both a cosmodrome and silos operated by the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSP). The area is one of the few in the country capable of launching long-range ICBMs equipped with nuclear warheads.
+ Click here to watch the video
According to analyst Etienne Marcuse from the French think tank FRS, the missile involved in the accident was an RS-28 Sarmat, Russia’s newest heavy ICBM.
Marcuse wrote on his X account that the missile “failed shortly after being launched from the Dombarovsky base, near the border with Kazakhstan,” and noted that the Sarmat had already destroyed its own test silo in Plesetsk in September 2024.
Before the launch, a NOTAM (airspace restriction notice) was issued covering the area around the village of Yasny and the Kura test range in Kamchatka — the traditional destination for Russian ICBM test trajectories. The site had previously been used in Avangard warhead campaigns, but the current notice indicated another silo, recently restored and prepared for new trials.
Delayed program and growing pressure
Marcuse points out that, after the destruction of the Sarmat silo in Plesetsk, the main expectation was that new tests would occur precisely at the sites intended for the missile’s future operational deployment.
According to him, although it is not impossible that the test involved the Avangard, it makes far more sense for it to have been a Sarmat test, given that the program is several years behind schedule and certification is considered urgent.
Meanwhile, the old R-36M2 “Voevoda” missiles continue operating far beyond their service life, extended for the last time in 2016. Maintaining these systems has become particularly complicated after 2014, when Ukraine — traditionally responsible for their technical support — ceased cooperation with Moscow.
“If this is indeed another Sarmat failure, it will have enormous consequences for the future of Russian deterrence,” the analyst said. “Replacing the R-36M2 becomes even more distant, and keeping these old systems operational becomes an increasingly uncertain task.”
Residents recorded the fall and explosion
The failed test was also noticed by local residents. On November 28, people in the region recorded the rocket’s fall and explosion near the village of Yasny.
The area is home to a formation of the 13th Missile Division of the RVSP — one of 11 sites in Russian territory capable of launching long-range land-based ballistic missiles.
Source and images: X (Twitter) – Etienne Marcuse @Etienne_Marcuz. Instagram @ukraine_defence. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
