Moscow's commanders have secretly moved almost 100 air defence missiles from Belarus to Russia sparking fears of a bigger escalation in Ukraine including whether Vladimir Putin would use a dirty nuke bomb.
Air-freighting scores of S-300 and S-400s is either a precaution against a retaliation from Ukraine for Russia’s recent blitz - or a sign of a much bigger atrocity yet to come.
One Russia expert told the Mirror: “Whatever Russia has in mind to inflict on Ukraine the Kremlin appears to be expecting retaliation on its own soil from Ukraine or the West.
“Analysts believe with these missile moves done so rapidly, just prior to this week’s massive bombardments, the two are interconnected.
“But more ominously they may indicate that worse may yet be to come and they are preparing for a big reaction to this activity.
“But more ominously they may indicate that worse may yet be to come and they are preparing for a big reaction to this activity.
“There has been talk of a dirty bomb.”
From November 9-13 around 20 IL- 76 large military transport flights were recorded from Belarus to military airfields in western and southern Russia.
Each was loaded with pallets of the missiles, totalling at least 70 missiles in all and now deployed to form an air defence shield on Russia’s western border all the way to Moscow.
Defence sites within Russia were bolstered with the missiles at airfields at Millerovo, covering Luhansk in Ukraine, and Rostov-on-Don, covering contested Donestsk, also Ukraine.
But coverage was also bolstered in Sescha airfield, opposite Belarus and standing between it and Moscow and Chkalovsky, near Moscow has also been provided with missiles.
It means Moscow’s leadership believes the capital suddenly needed more defence.
The missile deployment comes as it emerged as many as 83,460 Russian soldiers have died in the invasion, 2,879 tanks destroyed, 278 aircraft hit and 1,536 destroyed since February 24.
With Russia on the retreat from a ferocious Ukrainian advance in the south and east, plus the loss of key city Kherson Moscow has blitzed Ukraine with well over 120 missiles this week.
Missiles have hit Ukraine’s infrastructure, leaving ten million Ukrainians without power and large-scale blackouts throughout as the Winter freeze approaches.
In Kharkiv region, overnight shelling and missile strikes again targeted "critical infrastructure" and damaged energy equipment.
Russian forces unleashed the breadth of their arsenal to attack Ukraine's south east, employing drones, rockets, heavy artillery and warplanes, resulting in the death of at least 11 civilians.
Two people were killed in neighbouring Poland possibly by a stray Ukrainian air-defence missile as local forces fought to defend against a barrage of air-attacks.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, part of which remains under Russian control, overnight artillery pounded ten towns and villages.
In the wake of its humiliating retreat from the southern city of Kherson, Moscow intensified its assault on the eastern Donetsk region.
The city of Bakhmut, Donetsk remains the scene of heavy fighting, said regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
The Russian defence ministry also said Ukrainian troops were pushed back from Yahidne in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv province and Kuzemivka in the neighbouring Luhansk province.
At the same time, Moscow is fortifying its defences in the southern region to thwart further Ukrainian advances, having built new trench systems near the border of Crimea.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and international investigators continue their work on uncovering suspected war crimes committed by Russian forces in Karkhiv.
As many as 3,000 criminal proceedings have been launched for "violations of the laws of customs of war" by Russian troops in this region alone.
Reports of torture and other atrocities committed by Russian troops have also emerged from the Kherson region where Ukrainian officials said they have opened over 430 war crimes cases and are investigating four alleged torture sites.
