Russia is continuing work to put its 'unstoppable' Satan II intercontinental ballistic missile on combat duty, as he plots revenge for Ukraine's use of long-range missiles from the US and UK.
The Satan II missile, also referred to as the RS-28 Sarmat, is designed to deliver nuclear warheads to strike targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe, but its development has been dogged by delays and testing setbacks.
In September, Putin faced humiliation after his Satan II missile exploded, obliterating Russia's only test site for hypersonic weapon.
As a result, experts said that the test programme for the rocket could be delayed for years, or could even be aborted after a series of failed launches.
But as Putin continues work on testing his Satan II missile, Moscow warned yesterday that retaliatory actions are being prepared after accusing Ukraine of launching another round of ATACMS strikes into Russian territory.
The US gave Ukraine permission to use the weapons to hit Russian territory just over a week ago, after months of requests from Kyiv.
It comes after the New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials said that it was possible US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons before the end of his presidency.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that an idea being floated in some circles that the West should give Ukraine nuclear weapons was 'insane' and that preventing such a scenario was one of the reasons why Moscow went into Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said it was in the interests of responsible governments to ensure that such a scenario, which she called 'suicidal', did not unfold.
She said that what she called 'irresponsible actions' by Ukraine and its Western backers could bring the world to 'the brink of catastrophe.'
Additionally, Putin's troops have been advancing westward in Ukraine at a rate faster than any other time after the initial days of the 2022 invasion, taking an area half the size of London over the past month.
The war is now entering what some Russian and Western officials say could be its most dangerous phase weeks before Trump returns to the Oval Office amid fears he could dramatically reduce aid to Ukraine as he seeks to force a ceasefire deal.
North Korean troops are reported to be bolstering Moscow's forces and Kyiv is now using Western-supplied missiles to strike back inside Russia - a development that prompted Putin to unleash a never-before-seen 'Oreshnik' hypersonic missile last week.
The thrust of the Russian advance has been in Ukraine's Donetsk region, with Moscow's forces pushing towards the town of Pokrovsk and into the town of Kurakhove.
Pokrovsk is widely cited as a key strategic location given that it serves as a vital logistics hub for Ukraine's Armed Forces.