Fears that Russia's tyrannical leader Vladimir Putin may be plotting to test a nuclear weapon have surged after a convoy was spotted transporting top-secret equipment around the country.
A freight train reportedly owned by the Ministry of Defence's 12th Main Directorate - Moscow's nefarious and secretive nuclear division - was stacked with armoured personnel carriers and other deadly equipment as it was seen travelling through central Russia this weekend.
Footage of the convoy - which is thought to have been en route to the front line in Ukraine - was shared on the pro-Putin Rybar Telegram channel.
Konrad Muzyka, an independent defence analyst specialising in Ukraine, said the directorate is responsible for "nuclear munitions" and their "storage, maintenance, transport and issuance to units".
The Poland-based expert told The Telegraph the transport could be "signalling to the West that Moscow is escalating".
But, he said the footage didn't show "preparations for a nuclear release".
It comes after NATO shared an intelligence report claiming Moscow plans to test its Poseidon torpedo drone, which travels through water at a speed of 114mph and is thought to have a yield of several tens of megatons.
The underwater killer has been branded the "weapon of the apocalypse" and would likely be tested in the Black Sea.
As Putin announced the mobilisation of 300,000 Russians amid embarrassing defeats at the hand of Kyiv's troops, the warlord issued a direct nuclear threat against the West, claiming he is "not bluffing" when it comes to Moscow's arsenal.
And now the Pentagon is considering whether the Kremlin could make the world-ending decision to launch a tactical nuclear weapon.
Putin's nuclear rhetoric was repeated on Friday at a ceremony where he annexed four Ukrainian regions, making them members of the Russian Federation "forever".
He said the Kremlin would use "all available means" to defend its claim to the districts, suggesting nuclear weapons were also on the cards.
By making these areas Russian territories, an attack would be an assault against the homeland and pave the way for nuclear weapons to enter the fray.
Following Russia’s withdrawal from the key city of Lyman in the east of Ukraine on Saturday, Chechen leader and Putin ally, Ramzan Kadyrov, suggested the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.
But that was dismissed as a possibility on Monday by the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces have broken through Russia's defences in the south of the country while expanding their rapid offensive in the east, seizing back more territory in areas annexed by Moscow and threatening supply lines for Russian troops.
Making their biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, Ukrainian forces recaptured several villages in an advance along the strategic Dnipro River on Monday, Ukrainian officials and a Russian-installed leader in the area said.
