From tactical nuke to 7,600mph missile & 50k-troop assault…6 ways Putin could respond to Ukraine blitz after Trump call

The Sun

2 days ago

A SEETHING Vladimir Putin is looking to get his revenge on Ukraine after their daring drone blitz - here's how he could do it.
The despot could retaliate with one of his terrifying tactical nukes, launch a deadly 7,600mph missile or even order a renewed 50,000 troop assault to overpower his enemies.
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Putin has always shown during his barbaric full-scale invasion that he will go to unthinkable lengths for a victory and to avenge any personal humiliations.
The Russian tyrant was dealt a hammer blow to much of his nuclear arsenal over the weekend in the intricately planned assaults codenamed "Operation Spiderweb".
Ukraine launched shock sleeper drones on Russia's bomber fleet stationed at four separate airfields.
Putin's doomsday bomber fleet was crippled with a third of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks.
Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia.
A fuming Vlad then told Donald Trump in the pair's latest lengthy phone call that he feels he 'will have to respond' to the audacious assault.
Overnight, he launched his first retaliatory strikes on several residential regions in Ukraine.
The worst saw a baby, their mum and grandma all killed due to a Shahed kamikaze drone blast which caused their home to collapse.
Two others were also found dead in Chernihiv with another 17 seriously wounded in Kharkiv.
But fears are now growing that the Kremlin leader won't view his deadly drone blitz as enough to push back Ukraine.
Clearest vid yet of daring Op Spiderweb shows 35 Ukrainian bomb drones blowing up plane after multimillion dollar plane
Sparking serious concerns that the Kremlin may now be planning a much wider and more severe response to Kyiv.
The Kremlin gave a chilling response earlier today regarding how they may respond.
A spokesperson said: "Russian Federation will respond to the attack on airfields when and in the way that the military deems appropriate."
Here are five ways a maniacal Putin could seek revenge on Ukraine.
Tactical nukes
Ukraine's expertly orchestrated attack on Russia's airbases obliterated many of Putin's nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
But due to the Kremlin's vast military capabilities, it only just dented its nuclear force.
This means that Vlad still has access to countless of nuclear armed tactical weapons.
George Beebe, the vice president of US think tank Center for the National Interest says the attack may spark a firm response.
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He told Foreign Policy: "The Russians recently revised their nuclear-use doctrine.
"One of the things that they specifically said in there was that if there are attacks by an adversary on an important state or military infrastructure that would disrupt responses, potentially by Russia's nuclear forces.
"And that is potentially a trigger for Russian nuclear use."
In May, it was also revealed that Russia has expanded one of its nuclear weapons bases.
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.
Russia is believed to have over 6,000 nuclear warheads in total spread across the country.
These include the Kh-47M2 Dagger, the SSC-X-9 Skyfall and even the super heavy hypersonic missile known as the RS-28 Satan II.
Oreshnik blitz
One of the most terrifying weapons in the Kremlin's arsenal is their hypersonic Oreshnik missile.
The intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) travels at Mach 10 - or 7,600mph - and can strike targets up to 5,000km away.
The weapon was used in Dnipro, Ukraine in November 2024, marking its battlefield debut.
It was launched after Kyiv used US-made ATACMS missiles on Russian territory for the first time.
Back in March, Putin was again urged to unleash the Oreshnik by a Kremlin mouthpiece after suffering a major setback in his invasion.
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Ukraine launched the biggest drone attack on Moscow since the start of Russia's war made up if 337 drones.
In response, former Russian deputy defence minister Col-Gen Andrey Kartapolov said it would not be "unreasonable" to launch more than one of the devastating missiles.
HUR Chief Kyrylo Budanov said if his officers feared such a powerful weapon was on the brink of being used then he would send out an urgent warning.
Despite the concerns of an impending strike, a top intelligence official in Ukraine has said they do not expect a Oreshnik to be launched.
Launch the 50,000-troop Kharkiv offensive
Russia is building up a 50,000-strong army to launch a fresh summer offensive into Kharkiv, it was reported last week.
In April, Ukraine's military claimed the Kremlin was amassing troops to prepare a renewed assault on Ukraine's second largest city.
Andrii Pomahaibus, the chief of staff of Ukraine's 13th National Guard Khartiia Brigade, said in May: "The enemy is trying to pull its personnel closer to the line of combat contact and conduct at least some assault actions."
Experts fear Putin may be stalling ceasefire talks so he can pull off a major Russian offensive.
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But if Vlad can throw another 50,000 fighters into battle and continue his meatgrinder tactics then it could overwhelm an already depleted Ukraine.
Military analysts believe he is trying to gain as much stolen land as possible so he can go to the negotiating table with complete control.
They also warn Putin only has a "four-month window" to get a breakthrough in Ukraine this year.
And Ukraine's Spiderweb strikes could spark the beginning of a summer offensive targeting the border city of Kharkiv.
The region has been fiercely contested throughout the conflict and is known as the "fortress" city after Ukraine put up the maximum resistance to keep hold of it.
Increased airstrikes across Ukraine
Russia has already launched dozens of airstrikes and drone attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities since he was humiliated on the weekend.
He has made use of his impervious weapons throughout the gruelling war and has attempted to throw everything at his enemy.
But with Ukraine dealing a major blow to Russia's aircraft in their attack it could cause the despot to unleash even more fury.
Dozens of Ukrainian regions have faced countless airstrikes since February 2022 from the capital of Kyiv to the port city of Odesa.
Almost every night Russian blasts have been reported by civilians.
Mad Vlad may now decide it is the time to step up this already rampant aggression to put Ukraine to the sword.
The Kyiv Independent claimed that Ukraine will soon face 500 long-range drones a night as Russia ramps up its weapons production.
The Kremlin is also investing in building new launch sites, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) revealed.
The record number of drones launched by Putin's men currently sits at 472.
They also have around 70 strategic bombers at their disposal which could all be used to spread carnage across residential blocks.
Ditch peace talks and rule out a future ceasefire
The final way that Putin could respond to Ukraine is through a non-lethal yet crippling manner off the battlefield.
Russia has a far greater number of weapons and troops meaning the longer the war goes on for the more likely they are to outlast Ukraine, experts believe.
Despite Kyiv remaining strong across the past three and a half years, they have relied on international aid from the US, UK and Nato forces to keep them in the fight.
These same global partners have also been pushing for a ceasefire to be agreed to end the fighting.
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Led by Trump, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, a surging amount of pressure is being applied on Putin to negotiate.
So far, he has rejected all attempts to have a face-to-face meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky about halting the invasion.
Instead, sending a low-level delegation to peace talks which have resulted in little progress being made.
But Putin may now decide to completely pull Russia out of any conversations aiming to end the war.
He may use the spiderweb strike as a chance to pull out of negotiations and claim it shows Ukraine doesn't want or deserve peace.
This would force Nato and Ukraine's allies to react.
This could involve an increased military backing of Kyiv or tougher sanctions being imposed on Moscow.
Spies step up sabotage strikes
Putin is known to have a team full of shady spies littered across Europe.
The latest group are the Department of Special Tasks - or SSD - who are tasked with sabotage, cyber attacks and assassinations across Europe, Western intelligence officials say.
And warnings are starting to come out of Ukraine about Russia ramping up its recruitment process.
Artem Dekhtyarenko, an SBU spokesman, said: "The enemy is trying to recruit Ukrainians by posing as the Security Service of Ukraine."
In recent weeks the number of reported recruitment drives has skyrocketed, he added.
The genuine SBU has reportedly been actively seeking out these Russian liars to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation.
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