Putin orders surprise WW3 NUCLEAR drills in chilling ‘practice run for Armageddon’ as nuke-capable Yars missile launches

VLADIMIR Putin ordered surprise World War Three nuclear drills to ensure they were "ready to unleash Armageddon".

The Kremlin dictator continues to flex the country's nuclear muscle amid spiralling tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine.

Putin today ordered unscheduled strategic nuclear training drills across Russia.

The Kremlin dictator eerily said he wanted to test his apparatchiks to ensure they were ready to unleash Armageddon.

Putin has repeatedly threatened to use tactical atomic weapons throughout the war in Ukraine.

The Russian leader said: "Today we are conducting another training session of strategic deterrence forces.

"We will practice the actions of officials to manage the use of nuclear weapons with practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles."

He outlined how he had modernised Russia’s nuclear arsenal with hypersonic alterations.

As he ordered the drills, Putin ominously demanded: "All this is necessary for the effective protection of Russia and our citizens.

"So, let's get to work. Please."

In his TV address, the Russian ruler made a rambling justification for his obsession with nuclear firepower amid the bloody conflict with Ukraine and fears of a new World War.

The Kremlin dictator added: Let me immediately note that Russia confirms its fundamental position that the use of nuclear weapons is an extreme exceptional measure to ensure state security.

"At the same time, we are well aware that it is the nuclear triad that continues to be a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty and security of our country."

The 72-year-old former KGB spy said that this would allow Russia to solve issues "of strategic deterrence" while also maintaining "nuclear parity and the balance of power".

Putin warned: "Given the growth of geopolitical tensions, the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern strategic forces that are constantly ready for combat use.

"We will continue to improve all their components.

"We have the resources for this."

Putin claimed that Russia was "not going to get involved in a new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear forces at the level of necessary sufficiency".

Putin has in recent years fast tracked hypersonic strategic weapons and is seen as being ahead of the West.

He outlined how he had modernised his nuclear arsenal, discussing the systematic transfer "to the Strategic Missile Forces" which will see "new missile systems".

These, the Russian leader said, are to "have higher accuracy, reduced launch preparation time, and, most importantly, increased capabilities to overcome missile defence systems"

Putin added that introduction to the "newest nuclear submarines into the Navy" continues, alongside "the modernisation of long-range strategic bombers".

He said: "I would like to point out that Russia confirms its fundamental position that the use of nuclear weapons is an extreme, exceptional measure to ensure state security.

"At the same time, we understand very well that it is the ‘nuclear triad’ continues to be a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty and security of our country."

Putin has an array of nuclear missiles.

Among them are his largely untested Sarmat - or Satan-2 - hypersonic project, an apocalypse 208-ton intercontinental silo-launched 15,880mph nuclear weapon.

The Sarmat is the size of a 14-storey tower block.

Putin claimed it is "unstoppable" by the West.

Satan-2 carries ten nuclear warheads of 750 kilotons each.

Yet it exploded on the launch pad during a test last month and appears jinxed by technological problems.

If Sarmat works, it will replace Putin’s Yars strike missiles, currently the main ground-based component of the Russian strategic nuclear force.

The Mach 25 rockets have a range of up to 7,500 miles, enabling a strike on the US.

Putin also has the Iskander-M, a short-range ballistic missile system.

It is one of the most advanced tactical missile systems in Russia's arsenal and has the capability to carry both conventional and non-strategic - or battlefield - nuclear warheads.

Its range is 250-310 miles, reaching speeds of up to Mach 6-7.

Conventional versions of the missile have been used in Ukraine.

The missile has been deployed in Belarus, closer to the West than most Russian territory, and closer too Ukraine.