A Russian state television report simulating a nuclear attack off the coast of County Donegal has sparked horror in Ireland.
Dmitry Kiselyov, a pro-Kremlin presenter on Channel 1 known as “Vladimir Putin’s mouthpiece,” on Monday showed a video of a submarine rocket causing an apocalypse in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Russia could “sink Britain into the depths of the sea” with an unmanned submarine called Poseidon, he said. “The explosion of this thermonuclear torpedo from the British coastline will cause a giant tsunami wave up to 500 meters high. Such a barrage in itself carries extreme doses of radiation. Passing over the British Isles will turn what may remain of them into a radioactive desert.
The TV report suggests an explosion off the coast of Donegal. Photo: Russian State Television
The report does not name Ireland, but the simulation showed its destruction along with Britain, which angered the Kremlin by supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Irish politicians have condemned the report. Neil Richmond, a member of the ruling Fine Gael party, has called for the expulsion of Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov.
As Russian state media broadcast overt threats against Ireland, backed by an ongoing disinformation campaign, it is clear that we must expel the Russian ambassador from Ireland.
He is just another scumbag in their propaganda machine while waging war in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/f8DIMFJbjA
– Neil Richmond (@nealerichmond) May 3, 2022
MEP Billy Keleher tweeted: “It’s time to tell the Russian government that this wild language is simply unacceptable to us.
I suppose someone in the Irish Government is expressing our absolute aversion to these threats to Ireland.
There is no freedom of speech in #Russia, so these statements are made with Putin’s approval.
It is time to tell the Russian government that this wild language is simply unacceptable to us https://t.co/n9BX283jY7
– Billy Kelleher, MEP (@BillyKelleherEU) May 2, 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and naval exercises off the coast of Ireland have sparked a debate in Ireland over the country’s military neutrality and weak defense forces.
The TV report hit the front pages of several Irish newspapers on Tuesday, including the Irish edition of the Sun. “Crazy Vlad has been shot down – the threat from Russia to plant a nuclear bomb in Ireland,” the press headline said.
The Russian embassy in Dublin said in a statement: “The views and presentations on the TV show are up to the editors. Russia’s official position has always been that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed.
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