Putin’s £90m superyacht changes name and flees European port after nuke threat

Vladimir Putin's £90million superyacht has changed its name and fled from Kaliningrad following the tyrant's latest threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

The 270ft monster vessel, formerly called Graceful, was spotted leaving the Russian exclave (which sits between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Coast) and heading towards the tyrant's home town of St Petersburg.

According to Forbes, it was photographed on September 25 by Carl Groll, a contributing photographer for TheYachtPhoto.com, off the coast of Estonia.

READ MORE: Ukrainians respond to Putin's threats of nuclear weapon by 'organising an orgy'

The images show the floating mansion has now been renamed "Kocatka", meaning "killer whale" in Russian.

It is thought it has turned off its AIS transponders since at least August 30, meaning it cannot be tracked.

Just a few days prior to the ship being spotted returning home, Putin delivered a speech escalating the invasion of Ukraine, decreeing the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists and threatening to use "all means" at his disposal.

The superyacht had been in Kaliningrad following a hasty escape out of Germany just before the invasion, with Western governments threatening to seize property from Russian oligarchs if it went ahead.

According to German newspaper Bild, it was midway through repairs and made its escape with them unfinished.

Killer Whale, as it is now, is Putin's second-biggest superyacht and boasts a theatre, a cocktail bar and a swimming pool which can turn into a dance floor.

His biggest superyacht – the £500million, 460ft Scheherazade – was not as quick to escape at the start of the invasion. It was impounded in Italy in May and is now under the flag of Malaysia.

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A statement from the Italian Financial Police said: "After verification by the fiscal authorities it has come to light that there is a significant economic connection between the owner of the Scheherazade and senior elements of the Russian government.

"On the basis of these elements it has been recommended that the yacht be placed on the current European Union sanctions list and the Minister of Finance in Rome has agreed."

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