Blast map shows what happens if Russia nukes UK city in Putin puppet's latest threat

A key ally of Vladimir Putin has called for the 'eradication' of a major UK city with nuclear weapons in the latest chilling missive emerging from the heart of the Kremlin.

The Russian President has been warned by Sergei Karaganov, 73 - also known as 'Professor Doomsday' - the honorary chairman of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defence Policy that unleashing nuclear warheads is the only way to stop a larger conflict between the US and his homeland.

Prominent TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, meanwhile - who also advocates nuclear strikes - smirked and laughed in a Russian state TV segment as he called on his nightly show for Oxford and Cambridge to be bombed to decimate the British elite and their universities.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, many analysts feared it could be the first major step on the path to WW3 - war on European soil once more.

But while it remains unlikely, if push came to shove and Russia or indeed Iran did levy a nuclear warhead against the UK, how bad would the damage be?

One website, NuclearSecrecy.com, has a tool called Nuke Map, which shows estimates of the damage which would be dealt by various nuclear weapons. This was set up by Alex Wellerstein, a science and nuclear weapons professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

One option is the Topol SS-25, an 800-kiloton nuke currently in Russia's arsenal.

Predictably, it shows that, if it was dropped right on Cambridge, the damage would be catastrophic.

The nuclear fireball would cover a radius of 2.97km squared, which is central Cambridge including the suburbs of Grantchester, Milton and Teversham and it includes Cambridge University's main campus. Nuke Map states: "Maximum size of the nuclear fireball; relevance to damage on the ground depends on the height of detonation. If it touches the ground, the amount of radioactive fallout is significantly increased. Anything inside the fireball is effectively vaporised."

The next zone is the 'moderate blast damage radius'. An area of 134Km2, this would collapse buildings and start fires. The map states: "At 5 psi overpressure, most residential buildings collapse, injuries are universal, fatalities are widespread. The chances of a fire starting in commercial and residential damage are high, and buildings so damaged are at high risk of spreading fire. Often used as a benchmark for moderate damage in cities."

The third zone, further from the point of impact, is 384km2. The nuke map says this zone would also have a rough time of it: "Third degree burns extend throughout the layers of skin, and are often painless because they destroy the pain nerves. They can cause severe scarring or disablement, and can require amputation."

Finally, the last zone around the edge of Cambridge would be the light blast damage radius.

It is said about this area: "At around 1psi overpressure, glass windows can be expected to break. This can cause many injuries in a surrounding population who come to a window after seeing the flash of a nuclear explosion (which travels faster than the pressure wave). Often used as a benchmark for light damage in cities."

The picture is the same for Oxford. The inner zone, which would be instantly vaporised, contains Sunnymead, Barton Park and Oxford University's main campus. The damage would stretch as far out as Woodstock and Bicester on the outer edge of the 'light damage' blast radius.

The UK Government stresses that its nuclear deterrent would avoid such a catastrophe.

It says via gov.uk: "The UK's independent nuclear deterrent has existed for over 60 years to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, helping to guarantee our safety, and that of our NATO allies.

"The risk of nuclear conflict remains remote, but the threats the UK faces are increasing in scale, diversity and complexity. That is why we must be able to deter the most extreme acts of aggression against us and our NATO allies.

"The UK has taken a consistent and leading approach on nuclear disarmament but not all states have followed. Some are significantly increasing and diversifying their nuclear capabilities. We must ensure they can never use their nuclear weapons to threaten us, constrain our decision making, or sponsor nuclear terrorism.

"It may sometimes feel that these threats are far removed from our daily lives, but the UK must have the capability to protect itself and our NATO allies. Deterrence plays a key role in keeping the public safe, and to abandon our nuclear deterrent would put us all at greater risk.

"Since April 1969, the Royal Navy has maintained continuous at sea deterrence, with at least one nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine patrolling the seas undetected at all times, ready to respond to the most extreme threats to the UK. Their fundamental purpose is to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression.

"This continuous at sea deterrent (CASD) is the most capable, resilient, and cost-effective platform on which to deploy our independent nuclear deterrent."