Vladimir Putin appeared to be taking a “nuclear briefcase” to the funeral of a politician who died after “annoying” the Kremlin by predicting an invasion of Russia. Putin has long suspected that he was carrying a suitcase that he could use to send Russian nuclear weapons at a distance. The Russian president was photographed and filmed with the suspicious object as he said goodbye to the supranationalist Vladimir Zirinovsky. Mr. Zhirinovsky was the founder of Russia’s first officially recognized opposition party, but is believed to have been part of an organization designed to help keep Putin in power. On December 22 last year, the far-right politician more or less revealed the date when Putin would send his troops to Ukraine. He had only one day off – he predicted it would happen on February 22nd. Mr Zirinovsky told lawmakers: “Russia will finally become a great country again. And everyone must be silent and respect our country. “Otherwise they will shut us up and destroy the Russians first in Donbas and then in the west of Russia. “Let us support the new direction in Russia’s foreign policy.” To view this video, enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Putin made the sign of the cross as he said goodbye to Mr. Zirinovsky (Image: Getty) The “nuclear suitcase” is supposed to be a way for Putin to start carrying portable weapons in Russia (Image: East2West) That was Mr Zirinovsky’s last speech in parliament, when he was reportedly ill with Covid-19. Mr Zirinovsky was admitted to hospital six weeks later, on February 2 this year, despite the politician boasting that he had made eight piercings against the virus. Putin attended Mr Zirinovsk’s funeral in Moscow yesterday, laying red roses and making the sign of the cross on his open coffin. All the mourners left the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for Putin’s arrival, showing fear of the Kremlin being assassinated. Putin was accompanied by a small entourage, including a man dressed in a suit and tie carrying the suspected nuclear briefcase. Ukraine says that while Putin may hold a nuclear briefcase, he cannot use the device to activate destructive weapons on his own. To view this video, enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Mr. Zhirinovsky was the founder of Russia’s first officially recognized opposition party (Image: East2West) Instead, the case is supposed to be a portable way for Putin to send signals to the right departments from wherever he is. The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine said: “It is just a transmitter from the president and the first persons to the competent authorities and from the chain to the center of the launch. “Briefcases are being set up with the commander-in-chief, the defense minister and the chief of staff. “The key remains with the official. That is, the “Red Button” in the traditional idea does not exist. “Not only the Minister of Defense but also the Chief of the General Staff has to confirm the transfer of the signal from the president.” Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
