‘Columbus or Melania’s Breasts?’ Putin poll to name NEW unlimited range NUKES attacks USA

Russian citizens are excitedly sending the defence ministry ideas for names for their new nuclear weapons after Vladimir Putin announced an online contest in his state of the nation address on Thursday.

For a new underwater drone capable of blasting coastlines with a nuclear device, the most popular name was ‘Kraken’.

For a futuristic nuclear-powered missile capable of circling the globe, the name “Balalaika” was the most popular.

One Twitter user suggested calling the missile “Columbus”, after the explorer, before adding: “(he discovered America, he’ll close it)”.

Another suggested calling it “Melania’s Breasts” on Twitter, adding: ”Because they’re just fake.”

Another suggested calling it “Melania’s Breasts” on Twitter, adding: ”Because they’re just fake.”

The ‘Kraken’, which is a fictional gigantic Arctic sea monster, reflected the purpose of the nuclear drone, which is intended to go close to the shore unnoticed.

As the weapon name contest went on, Russian officials and lawmakers insisted Mr Putin’s speech was not an announcement of a new arms race but a warning to Washington to treat Russia as an equal.

The Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday: “Russia has no intention of entering an arms race.”

He added that the weapons aimed to maintain a “strategic parity, which is essential for maintaining peace and stability”.

The Pentagon on Thursday dismissed Putin’s statements, saying America’s missile defences were ready to protect the nation but were not directed at Russia.

A lot of entries were patriotic, with some suggesting the weapons should be named after the President himself, Vladimir Putin.

The regional leader of the province of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, suggested calling the nuclear-powered cruise missile ‘Palmyra’.

This was after a site in Syria was taken back from Islamic State by Russian air force.

The site suffered extensive damage in the fighting.

Kadyrov said: “The missile’s name should honour our guys who died in Syria.

“The Russian victory in Palmyra marked a turning point in the fight against [Isis].”

Russia diplomats have tried to spread the contest beyond Russia’s borders, after the Russian embassy in Washington tweeted a link to the defence ministry’s website.

Mr Putin boasted about the weapons in a speech on Friday at a public forum in Kaliningrad.

He said the underwater drone “goes faster than any surface ship that exists today, I wouldn’t even tell you the speed, it’s incredible”.

He said the weapons “flies at a speed 20 times the speed of sound … and it can manoeuvre thousands of kilometres up and down and right to left.

“It’s like science fiction.”

He went on to add: “We have been working on them for quite a long time.

“Other countries also have tried but, apparently, so far have failed to make them, and we succeeded thanks to new materials.”