
Putin rattles his 'Satan II' nuclear saber to hide Russian failures in Ukraine war: analysts
CNN
Vladimir Putin did his best to put a menacing spin on Russia's testing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday.
The Russian President said the successful launch of the "Sarmat" ICBM -- nicknamed the "Satan II" in the West and capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads as far as the continental United States -- would "give thought to those who are trying to threaten Russia."
But Western experts portrayed the test as "nuclear saber-rattling," saying the threat to the US or its allies was "extremely low" and suggesting Putin's real motivation was to distract his domestic audience from Russia's recent military failures, such as the sinking of its Black Sea flagship the Moskva.

Cracks emerge in GOP over Iran war cost as administration floats more than $200B request to Congress
Cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy.












