Putin shows off nuclear weapons as Russia prepares for victory day parade

Nuclear missiles have rolled through Red Square in a chilling warning to the West as Vladimir Putin prepares for his annual Victory Day parade – while desperately seeking a victory in his bloody assault on Ukraine.

The thermonuclear RS-24 Yars ballistic missile – which experts believe can can carry up to 10 warheads – was seen taking pride and joy as it was driven past rows of armed guards on a 16-wheeler vehicle on Saturday.

The intercontinental weapon, which weighs 49.6 tonnes, can travel up to 24,500km/hr and is capable of hitting targets up to 12,000km away – meaning it could strike London or New York within minutes.

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The weapon of mass destruction was followed closely by several Iskander-M missile launchers during a rehearsal for the military parade, set to take place on Monday.

Jubilant soldiers and servicewomen were seen marching outside the Kremlin today in preparation for the huge celebration, which marks Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Brandishing guns, they waved Russian flags, performed salutes and smiled at the cameras.

Meanwhile, just 1,200km away, Ukrainian soldiers are preparing to make their last stand against Putin’s warring forces in the strategic port city of Mariupol – where hundreds of civilians are cowering for their lives in tunnels underneath a steel mill as they attempt a last-ditch evacuation.

Ukraine’s first deputy interior minister Yevhen Yenin warned that the symbolic date of Victory Day is like ‘red to a bull’ for Putin, who desperately needs to secure a victory, adding that while the world remembers victims of war, Russia is ‘preparing to dance over bones in Mariupol’.

(DAILY MAIL)