The 23-long RS-24 missile is designed to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, which allow the missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads at different targets.

“In the Kozelsky compound, Strategic Missile Forces loaded a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile into a silo launcher,” the defence ministry said.

The defence ministry released a clip of the giant missile being transported to a silo and loaded into a shaft. It accompanied the video with pounding rock music.

Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, closely followed by the US. Together, Russia and the US control more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.

Russia has about 5,889 nuclear warheads while the US has about 5,244, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Of those, Russia and the US each have about 1,670 strategic nuclear warheads deployed.