President Vladimir Putin calendar: hunting in July
President Vladimir Putin calendar: hunting in July President Vladimir Putin calendar

A Vladimir Putin speech on Thursday (1 March) featured an animated video of the next generation of "invincible" nuclear weapons Russia is testing - which drops its warheads on Florida.

The footage shows images of the nation's new nuclear cruise missile, which the Russian President said can breach any missile defence in a State of the Nation address before both houses of parliament.

The animation shows the missile reaching the top of its trajectory, before falling towards America's most southernmost state, where US President Donald Trump has built his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort, which has become known as the Winter White House.

Putin described Russia's latest nuclear cruise missile, first tested last autumn, as having "a practically unlimited range and an unpredictable flight path", which made it "invincible in the face of all existing and future systems of both missile defence and air defence".

The leader unveiled the missile during a two-hour televised speech, ahead of elections for his fourth term as president, which he is expected to win on 18 March.

Putin has been in power since 2000, either as president or prime minister. If he wins the March poll he will be eligible to serve until 2024.

"No one in the world has anything similar," said the Russian leader, referring to the new cruise missile. "It can attack any target, through the North or South Pole, it is a powerful weapon and no missile defence system will be able to withstand."

Part of the animation that shows Russia bombing Florida with its next generation cruise missile

He added: "This is unheard of and nobody else has such a system in the world. They might create something like this in the future, but by then our guys will have created something new as well."

The head of state said the new cruise missile is part of a new range of powerful nuclear and non-nuclear weapons it will build that can "reach anywhere in the world".

Putin added that Russian armed forces had also developed a high-speed underwater nuclear drone that can target both aircraft carriers and coastal facilities.

The president also said that the Kremlin has tested a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, called Sarmat, which has a greater range and carries more warheads than its predecessor.

Putin said the development of the new weapons was in response to the US withdrawing from a Cold War-era treaty that banned missile defences and Washington's moves to boost its missile defence systems.