Last night, Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine – and that people should stock up on anti-radiation medicine and build air raid shelters in case of a nuclear strike. During an interview with the national media, the war-time leader made the doomsday prediction, which he then shared on his Telegram channel. Putin’s desperate use of tactical nukes in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine could not be ruled out, Kerry said in the fear on Friday.
By mercilessly shelling eight Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv, Vladimir Putin took revenge for the downing of his Moskva warship on Thursday. After being captured in Mariupol, a second British fighter was paraded on television by Russian forces, and in the latest blow to Putin’s botched war, Russia lost its eighth top general. Peskov said in an interview with CNN earlier this month that Russia would use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine “in the case of an existential threat,” and Russia’s military doctrine includes the “escalate to de-escalate” principle of launching small nukes in order to regain the initiative in war.
Vladimir Zelensky said last night that we should not wait for Russia to use nuclear weapons before taking action. ‘We have to be ready for that.” Medical supplies and bomb shelters would be required, he said. “I’m convinced the Russians can use any weapon, and I’m prepared for it,” he said.
A total of six Ukrainian news websites broadcast the interview. According to Lithuanian authorities, 54 crew members were saved after an intense day of shelling by Russian forces in revenge for the sinking of a flagship Russian ship, which is believed to have killed most of the ship’s roughly 500 crew members. But Russian television last night claimed that the sailors had been saved and were in good health. While other vessels scrambled to save those on board before it went down, satellite images released on Saturday showed Putin’s Black Sea Fleet pride burning.
Ukraine claims that two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries struck the Soviet-era Moskva warship in the northern Black Sea near the port city of Odesa, as seen on radar satellite imagery taken on April 13. Several other vessels have been spotted in the area, with reports claiming that they are rescue boats. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a technology that can “see” through clouds, was used by Naval News to locate the Moskva in satellite imagery. At around 6.30pm local time on Wednesday, the satellite that captured this image passed over the area, according to the publication.
In the Black Sea, it found a ship matching the Russian vessel’s coordinates at 45°10’43.39′′N, 30°55’30.54′′E, about 80 nautical miles east of Odesa and about 50 nautical miles from the nearest Ukrainian coast. ‘We are confident that this shows Moskva’s final hours,’ Naval News reported based on analysis by multiple people. A number of’revenge attacks’ by Putin’s forces were carried out yesterday in response to the sinking this week. One person was killed when a tank repair factory was blown up in Darnyts’kyi, a suburb in southern Kyiv, just before dawn.
After that, four cruise missiles were fired at Lviv, which Ukraine intelligence claims were shot down before they could inflict any harm. Second-largest Ukrainian city Kharkiv was hit by a warship-launched missile, killing one and injuring 18. At the same time, there was an intense shelling campaign in the Ukrainian cities of Donbas, Mariupol and Luhansk that is expected to be the focus of Vladimir Putin’s new offensive. As many as 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 10,000 wounded in the conflict, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
United Nations officials say 1,982 Ukrainian civilians have died, but that does not include those killed in cities like Mariupol, which have been under siege by pro-Russian rebels. On Saturday, a second British soldier was captured in the besieged city and paraded in front of cameras before being released. Putin’s claim that his’special military operation’ is going according to plan is completely debunked by the death toll.
Zelensky’s warning came on Friday, echoing comments made by CIA director William Burns, that the world should be concerned about the threat Putin poses as he becomes increasingly desperate. In light of Russia’s recent military setbacks, Mr Burns said Thursday, the risk of Vladimir Putin deploying a low-yield nuclear weapon has increased.
