Russia has issued a fresh nuclear threat to the UK after loading a second huge missile into a silo near Moscow.
Footage released by state media shows the Yars rocket, which can be tipped with a nuclear warhead and range all of Europe and the mainland US, being loaded into the ground at the Kozelsky base, 160 miles south of Moscow.
Yars missiles are capable of ranging the whole of Europe and the mainland United States from the Kozelsky base where they are being stationed.
There is tension in London after a retired Russian general told state TV viewers that Russia should prioritise striking London over Washington.
‘You don’t have to [strike] Washington first – it’s too far away,’ Lt. Gen. Andrey Gurulev told viewers. ‘London is next door…. Lonndon is the main hotbed of all nastiness,’ he said.
Vladimir Putin has been ramping up his nuclear sabre-rattling since declaring war on Ukraine back in February, with the West his main target.
Such threats have been dialled back in recent weeks after Beijing told him to cut it out, but are slowly building again ahead of Russia’s annual Strategic Missile Forces Day on 17 December.
The last time Russia showed off its Yars missiles was back in October when Putin oversaw the annual Grom nuclear drills.
Speaking after the latest Yars missile footage was released, General Gurulev said the West was hell-bent on seeing Ukraine attack Russia.
‘So why are we embarrassed to say that we should strike London?’ he asked.
‘I am not saying that we should demolish everyone. We should destroy critical facilities – control centres, military bases, and airfields.
‘I am sure we should have a catalogue in the General Staff and it is being updated all the time… Is it nuclear…[or not]?
‘If it is not nuclear, you have to calculate how many missile carriers, ships, aircraft, satellite constellation(s)… and long range [drones] are needed.
”And a strike on London, strange as it may sound, would be the first and last warning to the [real decision-makers – Washington].’
Col. Alexei Sokolov, speaking after the first Yars missile was moved on Tuesday, said the ‘complicated technological operations’ took a few hours.
He made clear the exercise was aimed at sending a message to the West, with both the UK and US within range.
‘The importance of this operation lies in the fact that the next missile will be put on combat duty on schedule,’ he said.’The homeland will get another nuclear missile weapon, which will make it possible to solve any tasks at the strategic level.’
Combat engineer Vadim Vyazovsky told TV Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s own channel: ‘I feel proud of Russia that my country is putting such products into service so that the Motherland can sleep well.’
Moscow claims that Yars can carry up to 15 nuclear warheads mounted on its new Avangard hypersonic re-entry vehicles, which carry them to their targets.
According to Putin, these vehicles are so fast and highly manoeuvrable that they cannot be stopped by any current missile defences.
