Readers of a UK media outlet have reacted to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) releasing a video of the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) being loaded into an underground silo at a base outside Moscow.
Some started to speculate about repercussions from an alleged scenario of Russia launching a Yars ICBM strike at London.
“At least we will be warm, be it temporary, it beats dying hungry in the freezing cold like many will be in the UK this winter,” one user wrote, in an apparent nod to their country’s energy crisis that emerged after the US and its allies slapped packages of sanctions on Russia over its ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.
According to another user, “if there is a strike on London, then at least the migration crisis will be tackled.”
Another netizen argued that “London is toxic, and [former UK Prime Minister Boris] Johnson is stirring it up,” adding, “I believe London will be targeted, and the sheep of this country will pay […].”
One more reader reportedly called for the Yars missile to be directed at BoJo, “who told [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky not to take part in peace talks” to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian MoD’s two-minute video released on Thursday showed the RS-24 being delivered to the silo and then loaded into it with the help of a special transport-loading unit.
The Yars ICBM, which has a range of about 12,000 km (approximately 7,400 miles), is capable of carrying up to six independently targetable warheads with a payload of between 150 and 500 kilotons apiece.
In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin underscored that there could be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, while also stressing that Moscow consistently followed the letter and spirit of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
“Our obligations under bilateral agreements with the United States on the reduction and limitation of relevant weapons have also been fully fulfilled,” he said, adding that Russia stands for “equal and indivisible security for all members of the global community.”