RUSSIA’S CHILLING WARNING TO THE WEST
A NUCLEAR missile rumbled through Moscow’s Red Square yesterday to send a chilling message to the West from warring tyrant Vladimir Putin.
The giant intercontinental ballistic missile, weighing 50 tons and able to carry up to 10 warheads, took pride of place in the Kremlin’s rehearsal for tomorrow’s annual Victory Day parade to mark Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany.
With a range of 12,000km, the thermonuclear RS-24 Yars is capable of striking London or New York in minutes. It was driven past rows of guards on a 16-wheel trailer in a demonstration of Russian military might.
Eight MiG-29 fighters formed the prowar Z symbol as they screamed over Moscow while members of Russia’s armed forces waved flags in support of the president’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. The show of force strengthens worries that Putin will use the event to announce he is ramping up his onslaught on the country.
Three captured British fighters are feared to be among 500 prisoners of war who could be made to march through Red Square in a sickening propaganda stunt.
Analysts had predicted that Putin intended to declare victory on May 9, but Russia’s slow progress means he may now seek to escalate the war. Yesterday’s rehearsal came after Ukrainian news outlet the Kyiv Independent estimated that Russia has lost almost 25,000 troops in the conflict.
Victory Day traditionally honoured the sacrifices of the Second World War but in recent years has become an opportunity for Putin to show off his weapons.
Ukraine is bracing for an increase in attacks as hundreds of civilians remained trapped under a steel mill in Mariupol while soldiers attempted a last-ditch evacuation.