VLADIMIR Putin told Finland in a phone call yesterday not to join Nato as his henchmen warned the Nordic nation could be destroyed in seconds by nukes — and Britain in under two minutes.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov parroted the veiled hypersonic missile threats as Helsinki moved a crucial step closer to joining the Western alliance.
Lavrov said on the 80th day of war in Ukraine: “The collective West has announced a total hybrid war on us.
“It is difficult to forecast how long this will all last, but it is clear that the consequences will be felt by everybody without exception.
“We’ve done everything to avoid a direct clash but the challenge has been thrown to us — and we accept it.”
The warning came hours after a member of Russia’s parliament warned Putin’s 16,000mph Satan-2 hypersonic nuclear missiles could wipe out Britain in just 200 seconds.
Aleksey Zhuravlyov, 59, deputy chairman of Russia’s defence committee, also questioned Finland’s “right to exist” if it joined Russia’s enemies. He boasted the Scandinavian nation — which has an 830-mile border with Russia and is just 250 miles from St Petersburg — could be destroyed in ten seconds.
Zhuravlyov’s wild threats came as Russian President Putin was frustrated on another day of military setbacks in Ukraine and enraged at the show of Western unity against them.
Zhuravlyov said: “If Finland wants to join this bloc, then our goal is absolutely legitimate — to question the existence of this state. This is logical.
“If the United States threatens our state, it’s good: here is Satan-2 for you, and there will be nuclear ashes from you if you think that Russia should not exist. And Finland says that it is at one with the USA. Well, get in line.