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President Vladimir Putin released a chilling message during New Year’s celebrations where he declared that he believes in ‘victory for Russia’.
This comes after fears continue to grow over a potential Third World War as tensions between global powers worsen.
The Russian leader addressed his nation in a speech before the clocks turned 12am last night (December 31).
Translated to English, Putin spoke directly to Russian fighters, saying: “You have taken the responsibility to fight for your native land for truth and justice.
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“Millions of people across Russia, I assure you, are thinking of you on this New Year’s Eve, empathizing with you and placing their hopes in you.
“Be united in sincere selfless and devoted love for Russia. I congratulate all our fighters and commanders on the coming New Year. We believe in you and in our victory.”
This chilling message comes just one day after a video was released on Tuesday (December 30) by the Defense Ministry which claims to depict the Oreshnik missile system being carried by combat vehicles.
The clip was reportedly shot at an unknown location in Belarus and according to TASS, which is a state news agency in Russia, this is the first time that the system has been shown publicly.
And what’s even more worrying is that President Vladimir Putin has claimed that if the missile were to be launched, it would be impossible to intercept.
While the missile does not have the ability to reach as far as the US, it could do some serious damage in Europe, with reports suggesting that it could reach London in just eight minutes.
Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have still not eased, with President Donald Trump warning earlier this month that the conflict could spell further disaster.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “Things like this end up in a third world war. Everybody keeps playing games like this, you’ll end up in a third world war, and we don’t want to see that happen.”
Andrey Bogodel, who is the deputy chief of the General Staff department of the Military Academy of Belarus, said: “Today, any good deed must, of course, be done with fists. Unfortunately, the world can no longer be organized any other way.
“Here, the ‘Oreshnik’ isn’t a weapon with which we want to attack, for example, Britain or Germany, but it’s a message that we, above all, will protect our peace in this way. A way that will allow us to say that it's definitely better not to interfere with us.”
Bogodel went on to say: “Literally, there are red lines associated specifically with the use of missile systems, even nuclear weapons. After all, remember the appearance of the missiles they launched on us - SCALP, Storm Shadow, then ATACMS.
“They also used drones against our radiation early warning stations. As well as attacks against our bombers, and so on. This is all an attempt to see how high Russia’s nuclear threshold is.”
The initial tests of the missile system were conducted late last year when it hit a Ukrainian defense plant.
Putin has since warned that the missile could reach temperatures that are close to the surface of the sun.
