Trigger-happy Russian President Vladimir Putin stoked concerns Friday when he reportedly took his “nuclear football” to a funeral at a Moscow cathedral.
The strongman showed up at the Christ the Savior Cathedral to pay his respects to firebrand ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who is said have died of COVID-19.
Putin walked in clutching red roses, but what caught the attention of viewers was the apparent “secret nuclear briefcase” in the hands of a man wearing a suit and walking directly behind the Russian leader, the Sun reported.
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Much like the so-called “football” carried by presidential military aides in the US, the Russian case is believed to contain launch data for the Kremlin’s strategic missiles.
An image published by the Sun shows an open briefcase, which was revealed to the public for the first time in 2019 by Zvezda, a TV channel run by Russia’s Ministry of Defense,
Local media say there are actually three such briefcases, each accessible by the most high-ranking officials in the Russian Federation, according to the report.
The sighting on Friday comes weeks after Putin placed his country’s nuclear weapons on high alert following the start of the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned this week that Moscow “retains a large and varied nuclear capability to threaten the United States and our allies and partners, and we have heard very provocative rhetoric concerning Russia’s nuclear force alert levels from Russian senior leaders.”
Russia sits on the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons — nearly 6,000 warheads — which includes missiles capable of striking the US mainland, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
The sight of armed guards around Putin could also hint he fears an assassination attempt, as the Sun reported nearly all mourners were cleared out of the church for his arrival.
Zhirinovsky, 75, known for provocative stunts and anti-Western tirades that kept him in the public eye for more than three decades, had been admitted to a hospital earlier this year after contracting COVID-19, according to Russian media.
He was known for outrageous and headline-grabbing statements, including threats to launch nukes against various countries, seize Alaska from the US, and expand Russia’s frontiers to the point where its soldiers could “wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.”
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