Putin prepares for next stage of Ukraine war: Nuclear combat readiness raised, troops boosted 350,000 to 1.5million, navy armed with hypersonic missiles

Putin prepares for next stage of Ukraine war: Nuclear combat readiness raised, troops boosted 350,000 to 1.5million, navy armed with hypersonic missiles, and military sent west to tackle NATO-wannabes Finland and Sweden

JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE

Vladimir Putin has dramatically escalated the Ukraine war again by raising his nuclear combat readiness and bolstering his troops by 350,000 to turn the tide on his failing campaign, raising fears of a global conflict.

The war-mongering despot warned the Kremlin will invest whatever necessary to increase its nuclear arsenal and vowed his much-hyped Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles will be available to his forces within weeks.

New military units will be formed on Russia's western borders to terrorise and scold Finland and Sweden for seeking to join NATO in the face of Kremlin aggression.

The terrifying ramp-up of the war will send a chill down the spine of Western leaders after a period of relative calm and Ukrainian advancements, raising the spectre of nuclear war breaking out in Europe which would drag in NATO.

Vladimir Putin today ordered Russia to increase its nuclear combat readiness, bolster troop numbers, prepare for the use of Zircon hypersonic missiles, and sending new military units to the borders with Finland

Its timing as Volodymyr Zelensky is in the skies to Washington DC to meet with Joe Biden is a stark reminder of the possibility of the war descending into World War Three.

The US is expected to announce a huge new military support package for Kyiv, which the Kremlin has preempted with its own ambitious spending commitments.

In his speech to defence chiefs in Moscow today, Putin made a series of rare and frank concessions about his botched invasion, admitting there were 'problems' with his mobilisation and acknowledging vague 'criticism' of his military strategy.

But to reverse his fortunes, the president will spend 'whatever it takes' on the military, 'improve the combat readiness of our nuclear triad' and increase his troop numbers from 1.15million to 1.5million.

He said the country's military should learn lessons and modernise based on its experiences in Ukraine and special emphasis will go to developing his country's nuclear forces, which he described as 'the main guarantee of Russia's sovereignty'. 

Defence minister Sergei Shoigu also declared plans to form new military units in western Russia to, as Kremlin chiefs prepared for a new phase in the war which is entering its tenth month.

The nuclear-capable cutting-edge Zircon missiles, which travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph, have 'no equivalent in the world', Putin claimed, although his forces have been beset with humiliation after humiliation so far in his war.

Putin also acknowledged that the call-up of 300,000 reservists that he ordered in September had not gone smoothly.

'The partial mobilisation that was carried out revealed certain problems, as everyone well knows, which should be promptly addressed,' he said.

The call-up drew strong criticism even from Kremlin allies, as it emerged that military commissariats were enlisting many men who were physically unfit or too old, and new recruits were lacking basic equipment such as sleeping bags and winter clothing.

Shoigu then announced a plan to increase Russia's military to 1.5million, inclueding 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers.

He did not say when the increased strength will be achieved. 

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