Russia has on Friday continued its nuclear sabre-rattling for a third day by deploying more long-range missiles near its western borders.
Propaganda channels showcased the new deployment of a Yars strategic missile, which can be tipped with a nuclear warhead and reach Europe and mainland US, in the Tver region, north of Moscow.
It comes a day after more footage emerged of another Yars rocket being loaded into the ground at the Kozelsky base, 160 miles south of Moscow.
A day earlier, video showed another missile arriving at the same base and as a retired Russian general said Russia should prioritise striking London over Washington DC.
Russia is thought to have 173 Yars nuclear missiles in service, which are capable of ranging the whole of Europe or the US with six nuclear warheads inside each
The latest deployment of the Yars strategic missile in the Tver region, which is closer to NATO borders than the Kozelsky base, comes as 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 stop, but they are slowly building again ahead of Russia’s annual Strategic Missile Forces Day on Saturday.
Russia’s Strategic Missile Force Commander Colonel-General Sergey Karakayev told Zvezda TV: ‘A missile regiment in the Tver region…has entered combat duty with a road-mobile Yars system.’
This deployment, marked by a military ceremony in the Bologovsky Strategic Missile Forces compound, came as Putin’s strategic forces separately launched dozens of powerful missiles at Ukraine.
The last time Russia showed off its Yars missiles was back in October when Putin oversaw the annual Grom nuclear drills.
Submarines, nuclear-capable bombers and Russia’s nuclear missile forces all took part in those exercises – watched over by Putin in his nuclear command centre.
Colonel Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Russia’s National Defence magazine, said afterwards that the drills were a rehearsal for destroying the UK and US.
On Thursday, Russian state media released footage of the Yars missile being loaded into the ground at the Kozelsky base.
A mobile Yars missile regiment was put on combat duty in Russia on Friday
General Gurulev said on Thursday 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].’
The Yars missile is a modification of the Topol-M missile system, and was first deployed in 2009. In the October drill, Russia allegedly practiced its response to a Western nuclear attack.
It is, however, not Russia’s most-modern nuclear missile – that is the Sarmat 2, which Putin oversaw a test-launch of back in April.
Moscow claims that rocket 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.
He has regularly used this fact to threaten other nations as his war in Ukraine continues to go badly for the Kremlin.
