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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
David Kent & Will Stewart & Kieran Williams

Is Putin closer than ever to a nuclear war? Worrying updates out of Russia as Ukraine crisis continues

Russia has been accused of "hiding mass graves" in Ukraine - as fears grow that Vladimir Putin could use a nuclear weapon.

Putin has issued a chilling warning claiming Russia has successfully launched a huge intercontinental ballistic missile known as 'Satan-2'.

The Russian president bragged that the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would provide "food for thought" for anyone thinking of threatening Moscow.

READ MORE: Click here for the latest news on the crisis in Ukraine

Putin was shown on state TV being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula.

He claimed no nation in the world is capable of stopping the newly-tested weapon, which experts believe is capable of firing more than 10 nuclear warheads at a time.

Russia's ministry of defence says the weapon was launched at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the northwest of the country, and successfully hit targets in the far east.

The missile was seen emerging amid huge rocket flames and smoke from an underground silo in a video released by Moscow.

Putin said: "This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia's security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country."

The warning comes as accusations are being levelled at the Kremlin that they are hiding "mass graves" in Mariupol.

Around 100,000 people are still trapped in the city, which has been surrounded by Russian troops for weeks.

Mayor Petro Andryushchenko made the claims on Friday morning.

“Mariupol. Right now. War crimes. After a long search and identification of the mass graves of the dead Mariupol residents, we have revealed the fact of building mass graves for the dead in the village of Manhush," he said.

“Near a bypass road, the occupiers built several mass graves, up to 30 meters each. They use trucks to deliver the bodies of the dead and simply throw them in bulk.”

He claimed the bodies were all stuffed into plastic bags.

He added: “This confirms our previous information that they are accumulating the bodies of the dead elsewhere within the industrial area in Mariupol.

Read more: Taoiseach asks Ministers to see how people could be paid to host Ukrainian refugees

Read more: Ukrainian refugees in Ireland set to be housed in emergency accommodation as B&Bs and hotels reach capacity

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