NUCLEAR war could be imminent as Russia told its citizens to urgently prepare for a devastating radioactive conflict as relations with the West stoop to their lowest since the Cold War.
By Patrick Christys
One apocalyptic broadcast told viewers on Moscow’s state-owned TV channel NTV: “If it should one day happen, every one of you should know where the nearest bomb shelter is. It’s best to find out now.”
The enraged host, Evgeny Kiselyov, blasted America’s “impudent behaviour” and spent two hours warning that a conflict could take “nuclear dimensions”.
Aggressive posturing from Russia in recent weeks has seen the state force 40 million of its citizens to take part in a massive defence drill to prepare them for a nuclear holocaust.
Russia’s military announced it would run the country-wide drill in preparation of a large-scale war.
The Kremlin also ordered nuclear capable missiles to be rolled into a base in mainland Europe, on an enclave near Poland called Kaliningrad.
It comes as Russia vowed to shoot down any American fighter planes that attack President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria.
But one expert believes Putin’s latest ramping-up of tensions is simply a tactic to prevent the US from interfering in Syria and to put the incoming American President on the back foot when they take office next year.
He said: “They want to touch bottom and then to try to go up.
“Any responsible politician…if you are responsible and experienced, it cannot start with further downgrading already bad relations if they are already at bottom.”