SATELLITES have spotted Russia's massive mega submarine which is believed to be armed with Vladimir Putin's new "weapon of the apocalypse" drone nuclear torpedos.

Nato reportedly issued a warning as they lost track of the Belgorod - a 604ft, 30,000 ton, nuclear powered submarine - as fears loom Vlad could detonate a nuke in a show of force to the West over Ukraine.

Belgorod however has now been spotted in satellite pictures by expert naval observers operating in the Barents Sea - a part of the Arctic Ocean.

The relatively shallow waters are key proving ground for Putin's navy with the sea's coasts belonging to Russia and Norway.

Pictures first released by naval warfare researcher H I Sutton show the submarine surfaced in the Barents on September 22.

And another satellite picture shows the massive boat operating on September 27 - just one day after the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic.

The pictures appear to definitively end any speculation that Belgorod - known for being equipped with drones and a mini submarine slung beneath her belly - could have been involved in the sabotage.

And the images were provided to The Sun Online by Sentinel Hub.

Chilling speculation however continues that the massive vessel could be working on another even more explosive mission for Putin.

Belgorod is the world's largest operational submarine - dwarfing the US Navy's Los Angeles class attack vessels and Britain's Astute class.

She first entered service with the Russian navy back in July, being dubbed a "city killer".

And the focus is very much on her armament, with Belgorod understood to be capable of carrying up to eight Poseidon nuclear drone torpedos.

The torpedos are 79foot long and carry a nuclear warhead - shooting towards enemy targets beneath the waves at speeds of around 70 knots (80mph).