A devastating nuclear attack on London, which killed 850,000 and injured two million, was simulated by a fiercely pro-Putin TV channel.
The broadcast of the four-minute video with English commentary appears to be the latest move in a concerted campaign to stop Britain from giving Ukraine permission to fire Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia.
Vladimir Putin’s propagandists and entourage have repeatedly warned that he could use nuclear weapons.
The video shown on Tsargrad’s Telegram channel begins with the threat: ‘Imagine if the unimaginable happens.
‘A nuclear weapon explodes over London. In this documentary we investigate the devastating consequences of this catastrophe.
‘In the simulation we use a warhead with a yield of 750 kilotons. That is quite a powerful payload.’
The commentary warns viewers: ‘During the detonation, a fireball as hot as the sun expands rapidly and reaches a radius of 950 meters’
The simulation of a nuclear attack was broadcast by an outspoken pro-Putin propaganda TV channel
Putin’s propagandists and entourage have repeatedly warned that he could use nuclear weapons
The commentary warns viewers: ‘Upon detonation, a fireball as hot as the sun expands rapidly, reaching a radius of 950 meters [1,039 yards].
‘Anything caught in this fireball will instantly vaporize.
‘In our simulation, the epicentre of the explosion is in Westminster.
‘People within that radius feel nothing at all, because the speed at which nerve impulses are transmitted is slower.
‘Within 5 km [3 miles] From the epicentre to the blast radius of the cities of London, Camden Town, Kensington and Brixton, these areas will experience the most devastation.’
A ticker on the screen displays the number of possible fatalities.
‘Buildings will be destroyed and the streets will be full of rubble, creating extremely dangerous situations for everyone in the area.
‘Given the population density of central London, the initial death toll could exceed 250,000 people and around 600,000 injured within a 10km radius [6.25 miles] The radiation causes third-degree burns.
‘Within that radius, anything that can burn will catch fire.
A ticker on the screen shows the number of possible fatalities
The disturbing simulation shows massive destruction in London in the event of a strike
‘[Petrol] stations, cars, power stations, gas infrastructure.
‘Explosive facilities will explode, spreading devastation across a huge area, from Camden to Greenwich and from Islington to Wandsworth.’
READ MORE: What happens if nuclear weapons fall on London?
An interactive graph shows how London would be vaporized by a nuclear explosion
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The video claims that ‘according to various estimates, another 450,000 people will die from burns, debris, injuries or radiation sickness, and more than a million will be traumatized.
Many of these injuries could be fatal in the coming days and weeks.
‘Radiation sickness in particular can cost lives days and weeks later.
‘In the long term, there will be another 100,000 deaths.’
The video was originally published about three months ago, but is now being brought to attention by Tsargrad.
It continues: ‘Within a radius of 18 km [11 mile] If the blast radius is large enough for the shock wave to crack windows, this will cause additional casualties among the people looking out of the windows when they see the nuclear explosion.
‘The shock wave will reach Hounslow, Edgware and Enfield.
Depending on the wind direction, the radioactive fallout can spread far beyond the immediate blast zone. Areas up to five to ten kilometres away may be affected. Damage can even occur in regions such as Essex or Surrey.
‘If a 750 kiloton atomic bomb were to explode in London, it is estimated that 850,000 people would be killed and 2 million injured.
‘If the explosion occurred on the ground instead of in the air, the radioactive fallout would be much greater and could even reach Manchester and infect people, land and animals.
‘The problem with a nuclear explosion in London is also that London is not designed in principle to survive such a disaster.
The video claims that ‘according to various estimates, another 450,000 people will die from burns, debris, injuries or radiation sickness, and more than a million will be traumatized’
‘Eleven of London’s twenty hospitals are said to be affected by the explosion.
‘The remaining hospitals would not be physically able to cope with the number of victims.
Many people still live under the rubble of the burning buildings, but no one can help them.
‘Since the development of nuclear weapons less than a hundred years ago, there have been more than twenty incidents in which a country with nuclear weapons was one step away from nuclear disaster…
‘Nuclear weapons pose a real threat to our future….’
The channel recalled in its report how Putin said in 2018 that in the event of a nuclear war, “We will go to heaven as martyrs, and they will… [in the West] will simply die, because they will not even be given time to repent.’
Tsargrad said: ‘The president warned the West that Russia has its own interests and that it will defend them by all possible and impossible means.
‘A simulator of a 750 kiloton nuclear attack on London was published today.
‘At the bottom of the screen you can see the death toll increasing as the strike progresses.’
Other radical Russian media also showed the video.
Tsargrad is ruled by 50-year-old oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, an investment banker and media magnate known as the “Orthodox oligarch” because of his ties to the Russian church.
It is not the first time that Russian propagandists have explored the idea of Britain being destroyed by a nuclear attack.
Earlier this month, Putin’s media cronies called for Britain to be sunk under a radioactive tsunami using the “superweapon” Poseidon.
Russian radical MP Andrei Gurulev mockingly shouted “swim, swim, swim” as he demanded that Moscow’s unique Poseidon, a super-fast underwater nuclear drone, be deployed on Britain.
The Kremlin’s propaganda channel Rossiya-1 demanded a “critical threat” from Putin to prevent Britain, the US and other Western countries from allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.
“There is, of course, a more radical option,” said Lt. Gen. Gurulev, a former tank commander and military strategist. “The people of Britain are there, they also want to live a good and happy life at our expense, right?
Russia’s Channel 1 shows a CGI mockup of Britain being ‘wiped off the map’ by the Poseidon rocket
The Belgorod submarine is designed to carry Moscow’s superweapon: the nuclear-powered drones called Poseidon, which Russia claims can create nuclear tsunamis.
“But if there is no Britain, there is no problem.”
Poseidon – so far unused – is an unmanned nuclear-powered underwater drone with an “unlimited range.” Putin sees it as part of his new nuclear arsenal and classifies it as a “superweapon.”
It is designed to carry strategic warheads of up to 100 megatons and could unleash catastrophic destruction. It could also be deployed as a tactical weapon with less firepower.
According to some reports, the underwater speed is up to 115 mph, with the ability to operate at depths below 3,000 feet. It should be ready soon, but details of tests remain secret.
The weapon could have come from Russian submarines such as the Belgorod.
It is seen as a weapon without equal in the world, a hybrid between a nuclear missile and a submarine.
