Putin sends chilling WW3 nuclear warning to UK: ‘Radioactive waves’ | World | News

Vladimir Putin issued a stark new threat to the West, warning of his huge nuclear naval arsenal as he struggles for supremacy in the war against Ukraine. The dictator’s chilling high-speed Poseidon underwater drone – powered by its own atomic reactor – is on track to be operational, he claimed.

Putin’s propagandists have claimed that they are capable of triggering radioactive tidal waves which could submerge swathes of Britain, with the sinister weapon nearing completion and ready to be deployed.

The Russian president was speaking in a command bunker at the Admiralty in St Petersburg after he was forced to abandon his usual massive annual Navy Day show of strength due to the threat of a Ukrainian strike to blow up his warships – or seek to assassinate him.

“In the nuclear triad, the Navy is of enormous importance,” he said. “It is unnecessary to even mention the importance of a submarine fleet equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles for deterring any adversary and inflicting unacceptable damage in the event of direct aggression against Russia and threatening our country’s sovereignty.”

Putin told his top brass: “I want to stress once again, that we did not start any war.

“We merely began responding to the hostilities, to the war that today’s Kyiv regime, with the support of the West, unleashed against…the south-east of Ukraine, which had always looked towards Russia.”

He vowed that the war in Ukraine “will undoubtedly end sooner or later” but not through a peace deal. “The enemy will be defeated, and victory will be with Russia,” Putin said.

The internet was switched off in St Petersburg as he arrived to mark a truncated version of Russia’s annual Navy Day amid fears by his security services that it could help guide an assassination strike on the Kremlin dictator.

The outages received significant backlash from locals.

The usual Main Naval parade — traditionally involving dozens of warships and a ceremonial salute — was aborted due the threat of Ukrainian attacks. He took part in scaled-back events at the Admiralty headquarters with the city bristling with air defences.

Putin claimed yet again that he is on course for victory in the war in Ukraine as he addressed naval chiefs from a high-security command post.

“Shipborne complexes are delivering devastating strikes against the enemy with high-precision weapons,” he said. “Marines are advancing, fighting bravely, skilfully, and fearlessly.

“The entire country supports them and awaits their return home with victory.”

Yet many analysts believe support is ebbing away from Putin as Ukraine’s strikes reach deeper inside Russia.

His naval commander Alexander Moiseev said that this year new nuclear submarine cruiser Perm will go into service armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, one of 20 new vessels by the end of the year as Putin taunts the West with his firepower.

For all his naval might, Putin has seen more than 200 vessels – mostly tankers and cargo shadow fleet ships – destroyed by Ukraine in the Black and Azov seas this month.

He also faces a rising number of illegal vessels being seized.

“In such cases, of course, we must act cautiously, within the framework of international maritime law, but decisively,” Putin said.

“We must fight piracy and pirates.”

He demanded “effective work” from his fleet commanders to counter ships being seized. As Putin spoke, the horror of the Chernihiv ATB supermarket attack became clear.

Two people were killed and 20 wounded as Russia once more hit civilians. One of the dead was a child, ten.

“This is a deliberate act of Russian terror that has no military justification,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.