VLADIMIR Putin is planning to test the launch of a ballistic missile capable of striking the UK in a chilling threat to the West.
Ukraine’s military intelligence said that Russia plans to launch an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The GUR agency said it is a “training and combat” launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile to intimidate Ukraine and the West.
It added that the test launch was designed to “demonstratively pressure and intimidate Ukraine, and also EU and Nato member states”.
The RS-24 Yars is a three-stage, solid-fuel ICBM that has a flight range of more than 6,200 miles – more than double the distance between Russia and the UK.
It is understood to be fired with a non-nuclear warhead from Russia’s central Sverdlovsk region.
Meanwhile, the US presented Russia with a 22-point peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal.
However, Vladimir Putin is understood to have refused to discuss the US-proposed peace plan.
A call between Putin and President Donald Trump is now being prepared, and both leaders are expected to talk on Monday.
It comes after Russia unleashed the “war’s biggest drone attack” after Putin defied Trump’s call to stop the “bloodbath”.
A harrowing 273 exploding drones were fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions overnight.
Meanwhile, Putin bluntly told Trump to stop trying to dictate terms to him for a ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed in the conflict.
Zelensky congratulates Dan on ‘historic victory’ in Romania’s presidential vote
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Nicusor Dan on his “historic victory” in Romania’s presidential election.
Dan appeared early on Monday, on course to win the Romanian presidency.
“For Ukraine as a neighbour and friend it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
“And we are confident we will. By working together, we can strengthen both our countries and our Europe.”
Putin expands nuclear missile base after test at frozen site killed five
Putin has expanded one of his nuclear weapons bases at a frozen site in Russia.
It is the same military site where five people were killed after a nuclear-powered missile exploded while testing in 2019.
New satellite images reveal construction work inside the strictly controlled military site of Nenoksa.
Three new facilities – each the size of a football field – can be seen at the centre of the naval testing site.
They have been constructed near a railway line that is thought to bring missiles and testing gear into Nenoksa.
The area, which before 2023 was forest, is now surrounded by double-barbed wire fences.
The entire compound, located some 40 miles west of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia, is thought to be more than 61,000 square meters wide – and is heavily fortified.
Construction at the Russian military site is thought to have begun in 2023, according to the Barents Observer, which has been tracking all its activities.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14240538/putin-russia-ukraine-talks-peace/