Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has reasserted his nuclear threat against the West by appearing to prepare for combat use a massive nuclear missile that is capable of hitting both the US and UK.
Footage released Wednesday shows the installation of a massive Russian Yars rocket into a silo at the Kozelsk military compound in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow.
The intercontinental ballistic missile has a range of 7,500 miles and was installed in a silo launch pad using a special transport and loading unit, according to the Mirror.
The Yars missile complex has a capacity “12 times greater than the American bomb that destroyed Hiroshima,” Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
In October, amid high tensions over the war with Ukraine, Putin oversaw the launch of a similar Yars missile to test Russia’s response to a possible nuclear attack.
Russia has reportedly been showing off its atomic weapons ahead of the annual Strategic Missiles Forces Day on Dec. 17.
Missile force commander Col. Alexi Sokolov said the latest drill was meant to send a message to the West, since both the US and Europe are within the missile’s range.
“The importance of this operation lies in the fact that the 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.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday it took several hours for the missile to be installed in the silo using a special transport and loading unit. The Kozelsk missile base is undergoing renovations.
The Yars is a modification of the Topol-M missile system, which was first deployed in 2009.
News of the preparations comes days after Putin canceled his annual year-end press conference, spurring increased speculation about both his health and the progress of Russia’s 10-month-long invasion of Ukraine.