Putin made chilling NUCLEAR threat when he emptied arsenal for biggest ever blitz…he can ‘smell weakness’, experts warn
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.
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".
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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.
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.
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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."