Putin will send 'doomsday' warning to West during Monday's Victory Day parade

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to deliver a “doomsday” warning to the West during Monday’s Victory Day celebrations to mark the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.

Putin is expected to defiantly address the West on Red Square before ordering the start of a parade where Russia’s armed forces will showcase the country’s troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles, Reuters reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also said that Tu-160 strategic bombers and the Il-80 "doomsday" command plane, which would carry Russia's top brass in the event of a nuclear war, are expected to fly over St. Basil’s Cathedral.

The highly advanced but secretive Il-80 "doomsday" command plane has not been showcased since 2010 and is designed to become a mobile command center for Putin in case a nuclear war started.

Putin has warned of nuclear escalation since he first launched his “special military operation” on Sept. 24, repeatedly likening the war in Ukraine to the Soviet Union’s fight against Hitler’s invading forces in the winter of 1941.

"The attempt to appease the aggressor on the eve of the Great Patriotic War turned out to be a mistake that cost our people dearly," Putin said shortly after announcing the invasion of Ukraine.

Just three days after launching the invasion, Putin shocked the world by announcing he had ordered Russian nuclear forces on high alert or “special combat readiness” or “special regime of combat duty.”

“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” he said in a televised address.

Similarly, the Kremlin last month warned Western leaders that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles to the heart of Europe if Sweden or Finland join NATO.

Russia’s Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev took to Telegram to warn U.S. and European leaders that, “there can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic - the balance must be restored,” CNBC reported.

Medvedev also noted that Russia would be forced to strengthen its land, naval and air forces should any additions be made to the Western military bloc, adding that Europeans would have to get used to living with nuclear weapons close to home.

Amid rumors of a formal escalation in hostilities, however, the Kremlin claimed on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin did not plan to declare war against Ukraine or call for a national mobilization on May 9.

Addressing speculation that Putin will formally declare war against Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “there is no change of that. It’s nonsense.”

Peskov also noted that people should disregard rumors that officials could soon call for a national mobilization, Reuters reported.

According to U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Prices, however, there is “good reason to believe that the Russians will do everything they can to use" May 9 for propaganda purposes.

"We've seen the Russians really double down on their propaganda efforts, probably, almost certainly, as a means to distract from their tactical and strategic failures on the battlefield in Ukraine," Price told reporters at a briefing on Monday.

“It would be a great irony if Moscow used the occasion of 'Victory Day' to declare war, which in itself would allow them to surge conscripts in a way they're not able to do now, in a way that would be tantamount to revealing to the world that their war effort is failing, that they are floundering in their military campaign and military objectives," he added.

"I think he will try to move from his 'special operation,'" British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio last week.

"He's been rolling the pitch, laying the ground for being able to say 'look, this is now a war against Nazis, and what I need is more people. I need more Russian cannon fodder.'"