The West is already concerned after Vladimir Putin sent a red button warning by putting his nuclear forces on “special alert” several weeks ago amid the Ukraine war. And with an array of intimidating weapons in his arsenal, such as his Poseidon torpedoes and the ‘Satan 2”, it is clear Russia is capable of causing some serious damage.
A Russian MP has also warned Prime Minister warned Boris Johnson that the UK is now a “prime target” for Moscow given London’s unwavering military and political support for Kyiv.
The Russian lawmaker said last week: “Great Britain is a prime target for that (nuclear strike). It is an island nation, which would minimise the damage to the continent.”
Prof Futter, a nuclear weapons expert from the University of Leicester warned that if Putin did launch an attack on Britain’s capital, London would not stand a chance.
He told MyLondon: “We aren’t protected, basically.
“We don’t have any way to intercept Russian ballistic missiles flying towards the UK.
The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and can hit targets in the US and Europe.
Dmitry Rogozin told Russian state TV that the Sarmat missiles would be based in the Siberian town of Uzhur, in the Krasnoyarsk region, about 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) east of Moscow.
They would be deployed no later than the autumn and would be placed in the same silos as the Soviet-era Voyevoda missiles they are to replace.
When Putin first made reference to the missile, he called it a “super-weapon”.
Mr Rogozin, head of Russia’s space agency, said: “This is a missile that is much more powerful than other strategic weapons, including the Minuteman-III missile, which is in service with the United States.
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“Both in terms of global reach and the power of warheads that can be delivered to the territory of an aggressor.”
But this is not the only weapon in Russia’s huge arsenal.
The country has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons with a 6257-strong fleet. These include 527 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers.
ICBMs can get up to a top speed of four miles per second in about ten minutes after launch.
In theory, this means the horrifying weapons could potentially reach the UK from Russia within 20 minutes.