VLADIMIR Putin has been ramping up his nuclear threats by deploying missiles and ordering bombers be readied for war.
The Russian tyrant’s moves come as he is reportedly building a 200,000 strong army for a fresh assault on Ukraine and amid a new wave of missile attacks against the country.
He has also been trying to get his hands on more missiles from Iran, the UK has warned, and chillingly re-thinking Russia’s 'no first strike' nuclear weapons policy.
The last two days have seen Putin order Yars nuclear missiles loaded into their silos as he once again rattles his nuclear sabre after threatening the West earlier this year.
The intercontinental ballistic missile has a 7,500 mile range and is reportedly 12 times more destructive than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Putin was filmed in late October overseeing the launch of a similar Yars nuclear missile as part of a mock attack on Britain and the US.
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He then sent up nuclear bombers in a defiant show of firepower after the fleet came under attack from Ukrainian drones.
Two Tu-95MS planes – known as Bears – took to the skies over the Sea of Japan in a show of firepower.
And he also sent three MiG-31 warplanes designed to carry deadly Kinzhal nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles to Belarus on Tuesday.
Kinzhal missiles have a range that would allow them to hit Britain from Belarus air space.
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It comes as Valery Zaluzhny, head of the Ukrainian armed forces, has warned that despite Russia’s devastating losses, Putin isn’t finished in his desire to conquer the country.
Russia is “preparing new resources 100 per cent” and Ukraine must be ready for fresh fighting in February and March, he told The Economist.
“The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv,” he said.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, warned against allowing complacency to set in after recent Russian military setbacks in the Ukraine war.
“We and the world should not relax, because the ultimate goal of the Russian Federation is to conquer all of Ukraine, and then it can move on,” she said.
Putin’s allies have also waded in with calls for nuclear weapons to be used in Ukraine and against the West.
Alexander Khodakovsky, who commands forces of Donetsk area of Ukraine annexed by Russia, told state TV nuclear weapons are one way to win the war.
"Everyone realises that the next spiral of escalation can only be the nuclear stage of war," Khodakovsky said.
It follows threats by a pro-Putin MP and military expert to launch a direct strike on London.
Retired Lieutenant-General Andrey Gurulev branded the UK capital the "hotbed of all nastiness" as he issued the sickening warning.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council of the, has said Ukraine's civilian infrastructure is a legitimate target for attack.
Just last week he said any country that attacks Russia with nuclear weapons will be wiped off the face of the earth – and it may strike first.
If nuclear missiles hit his country "nothing will remain of the enemy", he warned.
He added Russia was considering changing its policy to allow for a pre-emptive strike, a strategy which he claimed the United States has.
"We're thinking about this," he said.
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"We're thinking about a disarming strike. If we are talking about a disarming strike, perhaps we should think about using the approaches of our American partners."
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