Putin to send nuclear ‘doomsday’ warning on 9 May
Vladimir Putin will send a “doomsday” warning to the west when he leads celebrations on 9 May, marking the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war, Reuters reports.
On Russia’s Victory Day on Monday, the president is expected to deliver a speech on Moscow’s Red Square before a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Russia’s defense ministry said supersonic fighters and Tu-160 strategic bombers will conduct a fly-past over St Basil’s Cathedral. For the first time since 2010, the Il-80 “doomsday” command plane, which would carry Russia’s top brass in the event of a nuclear war, will join the fly-past.
In the event of a nuclear war, the “doomsday” plane would become the roaming command center for the Russian president. It is packed with technology but specific details are Russian state secrets.
