Britain could be “plunged into the sea” by an underwater nuclear strike, a host on Russian state television has threatened.
Dmitry Kiselyov, a key propagandist for Vladimir Putin, used his show on Sunday night to suggest an attack on UK using a Poseidon underwater drone could be a possible course of action for Russia.
Mr Kiselyov said the weapon would trigger a radioactive tidal wave and plunge Britain “to the depths of the ocean”.
He added: “This tidal wave is also a carrier of extremely high doses of radiation. Surging over Britain, it will turn whatever is left of them into radioactive desert, unusable for anything. How do you like this prospect?”
Mr Kiselyov also threatened the UK with another weapon, Sarmat 2, which Russia said earlier this month it planned to deploy by autumn.
The intercontinental ballistic missiles - that are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads - would be able to target Europe and the US, experts have warned.
“Why do they threaten vast Russia with nuclear weapons while they are only a small island? The island is so small that one Sarmat missile is enough to drown it once and for all,” Mr Kiselyov said.
“Russian missile Sarmat, the world most powerful is capable of destroying an area the size of Texas or England.
“A single launch, Boris, and there is no England anymore. Once and for all. Why do they play games?”
Last week US officials downplayed the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons despite a recent escalation in Moscow’s rhetoric.
“We continue to monitor their nuclear capabilities every day the best we can and we do not assess that there is a threat of the use of nuclear weapons and no threat to NATO territory,” the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters.
Just last week, Boris Johnson said he did not expect any further Russian military failures in Ukraine to push Putin into using tactical nuclear weapons there, saying the Russian leader had room to manoeuvre and end the conflict.
And earlier this month CIA director William Burns said the threat of Russia potentially using tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine could not be taken lightly, but that the CIA has not seen a lot of practical evidence reinforcing that concern.
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