VLAD's BARRAGE
Chilling moment deranged Putin oversees ‘nuclear strike on the West’ during terrifying ‘Operation Thunder’ WW3 drills
VLADIMIR Putin has ordered drills involving Russia's nuclear forces in which they simulated a massive strike on the West.
The barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles fired in the "Operation Thunder" exercises comes as a US official has warned of "troubling developments" involving Russia's nuclear arsenal.
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Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the drills - codenamed "Grom" or "Thunder" - simulated a massive nuclear strike by Russia in retaliation for an attack on its soil.
Video released by the Russian-military run Zvezda website showed armed forces personnel in front of computers launching a Yars ballistic missile.
Other footage showed a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile being fired from a submarine in the Barents Sea and a TU-95 bomber that launched cruise missiles.
The Kremlin said that all tasks set for the exercise were fulfilled and all the missiles that were test-fired reached their designated targets.
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The United States has said that Moscow informed it about the drills in advance.
The Russian drills come as NATO is rehearsing its own use of US nuclear bombs based in Europe in its annual "Steadfast Noon" war games.
Putin observed the annual exercise remotely as Russia rehearsed its response to a nuclear attack - with drills involving nuclear submarines, strategic bombers and ballistic missiles.
It comes amid growing fears the tyrant could detonate a nuke as Moscow continues to wildly swing its nuclear sabre.
The tyrant is becoming increasingly frustrated as his troops have been hit with a series of disastrous defeats across the frontline in Ukraine.
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There are concerns that if Vlad finds himself boxed into a corner, he could resort to using nuclear weapons.
Putin has repeatedly raised the spectre of using the weapons - and it's feared he could potentially be lining up a test in the Black Sea.
A senior US official has now warned of "new, troubling development involving Russia's nuclear arsenal", reports the New York Times.
The source declined to provide any further details.
Officials in America have reported no movement of any of Russia's 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons.
Nukes have not been used in a war since the US dropped two bombs on Japan to end World War 2.
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But Russia has been dangling the threat of nuclear weapons over Ukraine as its forces continue to be pushed back.
Moscow's war doctrine is believed to be open to using nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict as an intimidation tactic - and use of such a weapon must be signed off personally by Putin.
It comes as Russia told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Ukraine was preparing to use a "dirty bomb", which has been dismissed by Western and Ukrainian officials as a false pretext for intensifying the war.
President Zelensky said Russia's allegation suggested Moscow was planning to use a tactical nuclear weapon and would seek to blame Kyiv.
A recent simulation has revealed how a Russian nuclear strike could trigger a global conflict, killing 35 million people in just a matter of hours.
The model predicts a catastrophic war escalating from an initial Russian nuclear strike, which quickly draws in other powers.
Known as "Plan A", the four-minute animation aims to highlight the horrific potential consequences of conflict between Russia and NATO countries.
It was created by Princeton University researchers working with the Program on Science and Global Security.
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