RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has reasserted his nuclear threat to the West by appearing to be getting ready to use a massive nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States and the United Kingdom.
A video released on Wednesday captured the setting up of a massive Yars rocket in a silo launch pad at the Kaluga region’s Kozelsk military compound. The Kaluga region is situated southwest of Moscow.
According to the media, the intercontinental ballistic missile installed in the silo with a special vehicle for transporting and loading has a range of 7,500 miles.
According to Russian media outlets, the Yars missile complex has a power “12 times greater” than the nuclear bomb deployed by America that destroyed Hiroshima.
Vladimir Putin presided over the launch of a similar Yars missile in October to test Russia’s response to a potential nuclear attack amid high tensions over the Ukrainian conflict.
Russia has been demonstrating its nuclear-capable armour ahead of the annual Strategic Missile Forces Day on December 17th.
The missile force commander, Col. Alexi Sokolov, said the most recent drill intended to make an impression on the West given that both Europe and the USA are within the rocket’s reach.
He said that the missile would be put on combat duty “on schedule” and asserted the importance of the operation.
Sokolov added that the Russian “homeland” would receive another nuclear missile weapon, enabling the resolution of any strategic tasks.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, it deployed specialised transport and loading units to install the missile in the silo, which took several hours. The Kozelsk rocket base is going through a remodelling process.
The announcement of the preparations comes just a few days after Putin cancelled his annual year-end press conference, raising more questions about his deteriorating health and the worries over Russia’s failed 10-month invasion of Ukraine.
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