Images of three different missile systems have been shared widely on Facebook alongside a claim that Russia recently unveiled a new weapon that could eradicate every living being on Earth. But this is false: the weapons featured in the posts are old and do not show the fearsome new RS-28 Sarmat, also known as Satan 2, which will only enter service towards the end of 2022, according to experts.

One of the Facebook posts, which features three images of surface-to-air missile defence systems, was published on February 25, 2022, on a page called “Thunder Newspaper” with more than 14,000 followers.

“BreakingNews. Russia unveiled a nuclear weapon called ‘Satan 2 liquid fueled nuclear missile’ capable of destroying everything breathing in the world (sic),” reads the post.

It has been shared more than 34,000 times and generated nearly 3,000 likes.

Other posts featuring the same images were also shared on Facebook in Ethiopia here, here and here.

The claim surfaced soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of his Western-backed neighbour Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

AFP reported that Russia has amassed more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.

However, AFP Fact Check found that none of the three photos shows a new devastating Russian missile nicknamed “Satan 2,” as this weapon is still in development. All of the missiles in the images, however, were built to carry nuclear warheads.

R-36 “Satan”

A reverse image search focusing on the first...

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