VLADIMIR Putin began emptying his arsenal for Russia’s biggest-ever blitz on Ukraine overnight because he “smells weakness”, experts have warned.
The tyrant could now be looking to strike nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia – which is four times bigger than Chernobyl.
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Putin, 71, unleashed hell on civilians using a deadly arsenal of 88 missiles and 66 drones – many of which were designed to batter warships and infrastructure.
Among the weaponry were seven £4.5million “Kinzhal” rockets, capable of travelling at 12 times the speed of sound, and five Kh-22 “Storm” long-range missiles intended for use against aircraft carriers.
The cruel leader emptied his stockpile on civilian infrastructure overnight, sending the Dnipro power plant and dam up in flames.
Ukraine’s energy minister Herman Halushchenko said the blitz was “the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy sector in recent times”.
Domestic and industrial electricity supplies were obliterated and civilians were faced with an internet blackout.
Retired British Army General Sir Richard Barrons told The Sun that the bombardment reflected Russia’s resupply of missiles and drones.
He said: “[The attacks] are designed to weaken Ukraine’s resolve to keep on fighting and, above all, to suggest to the West that supporting Ukraine is futile and ‘we’ should encourage Ukraine to settle, ie accept defeat.
“Putin, with a new six-year term is confident about his cause and he thinks (Donald) Trump will win and EU is splitting.
“So he smells weakness and opportunity that these attacks are intended to exploit. Bluntly, the more catastrophic the – self-inflicted – outcome in Ukraine the greater the risk of escalation to a major confrontation, even conflict, with Nato.”
He warned that Russia will mount a renewed offensive in the summer and attempt to charge on to the Dnipro river and Kyiv.
The attack, arguably the despot’s most audacious yet, came as the Kremlin claimed the West’s intervention on Ukraine’s side was to blame for the calamitous ongoing war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday: “We are in a state of war.
“Yes, it started out as a special military operation, but as soon as this group was formed, when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, it became a war for us.”
Chemical weapons expert Colonel Hamish Stephen de Bretton-Gordon said Peskov’s comments were “hugely worrying” and indicated “the gloves are off” – that “there are no holes barred”.
He told The Sun: “The massive attack is an indication that Russians are taking advantage of confusion in the West at the moment, Ukraine’s lack of munitions and air defence missiles – which is why lots got through this time.”
The Kremlin’s apparent change of rhetoric “most likely signals that Russia is getting to mobilise,” according to security expert Aliona Hlivco.
Ms Hlivco, the managing director of Henry Jackson Society, said Putin is escalating the war and looking to destroy Ukraine while the West is reluctant to provide any more weapons and artillery ammunition.
Lithuania’s foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis despaired on Friday: “We choked the weapons supply, we failed to provide enough air defence, and now we ask Ukrianians to sit on their hands while cruise missiles land on their families.
“Such mistakes are setting the course of the entire century. And there is no justification for any of this.”
Following last weekend’s sham election, where Putin “won” a fifth term in the Kremlin with 87 per cent of the vote, the despot has no reason not to go “all in”.
“There are no shackles on Putin now,” De Bretton-Gordon told The Sun after the election.
Ms Hlivco said on Friday: “Putin has got nothing left to lose. He’s a pariah, a war criminal on the world stage.
“And Russia has reached its critical point of of no return. It’s leading everyone who they can get on board against the rest of the world, not fearing any potential consequences.
“Russia doesn’t really care for its citizens. They’re leading the world into the abyss.”
Now that Russia “thinks it’s at war”, Putin may consider nuclear power station Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine – the largest nuke power plant in Europe – a “legitimate target“, said Col De Bretton-Gordon.
The overnight attack took out power to the plant.
Col De Bretton-Gordon warned Zaporizhzhia – four times bigger than Chernobyl – could be used as an improvised nuclear device.
He said: “It is an exceedingly dangerous state without power.”
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