TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said Russia is using “very sinister” tactics after state television showed a mock-up of both Ireland and the UK being destroyed by a nuclear strike.
The simulated clip, which appeared on Russian state broadcaster Russia-1 over the weekend, shows a nuclear sub launching a missile to hit the coast off Ireland, creating a tsunami which would destroy both Ireland and the UK.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Martin said that the clip represented a worrying mindset, which was not in touch with reality.
“It’s very sinister intimidatory type tactics by the Russian Federation, but I don’t think anyone’s going to be intimidated by it,” said Martin.
“I think it reflects a mindset that is worrying and not in touch with reality.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that a clip aired on Russian state TV that showed Ireland and the UK being destroyed by nuclear weapons were "sinister, intimidatory-type tactics" by Russia pic.twitter.com/PG6tXNvikd
— Tadgh McNally (@TadghMcN) May 3, 2022
He called for an apology to be made by the Russian state broadcaster for playing the clip.
The simulated clips were played on Russia-1, with TV host Dmitry Kiselyov appearing alongside the clip, speaking about destroying the UK with nuclear weapons.
In the clip, Kiselyov says that an underwater drone could be deployed to “plunge the British Isles into the depths of the sea”.
The clip shows a nuclear warhead being detonated off the northwest coast of Ireland, with Kiselyov saying that a 500 metre tall tsunami would engulf both Ireland and the UK.
“The warhead has a yield of up to 100 megatons and will cause a gigantic tidal wave up to 500m high,” Kiselyov says.
“Such a barrage alone also carries extreme doses of radiation”.
He adds that the strike would turn the British Isles into a “radioactive desert, unfit for anything for a long time”.
Kiselyov is one of the most powerful figures within Russian media and is well known within the country for his close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath, said that it was “disturbing” to see both Ireland and the UK “wiped out” in a simulation.
When asked if Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, should be brought to the Department of Foreign Affairs to explain the clip, McGrath said that it was for the Department to decided the “most appropriate diplomatic response”.
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