A defiant Vladimir Putin has issued a brazen threat to the West during a surprise trip to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The despot warned that countries bordering the Baltic Sea territory are not prepared for ‘what will follow’ after many decided to tear down Soviet war memorials.
During his surprise visit on Thursday, which saw Putin fly close to Nato airspace, the 71-year-old told students at Kant Baltic Federal University: ‘This is stunning ignorance and lack of understanding of where they live, what they are doing and what will follow.’
The region, which is bordered by Poland and Lithuania, both of which were formerly occupied by the Soviet Union before regaining their independence, is believed to be the most likely flashpoint for a conflict between Russia and Nato.
It comes as the UK Government has revealed it thinks there is a one in four chance that Russia will attack one of Britain’s allies in the next two years, potentially sparking a war.
Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on social and economic development of Russia’s Kaliningrad region in Kaliningrad on Thursday
Putin listens to Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov during a meeting on Thursday
The wreckage of a burned car seen in the streets of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine after a Russian missile attack
As it reaches the two-year anniversary of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, ministers have said any escalation that involves attacking British allies would have to bring a military response.
Experts at the Cabinet Office have warned that if this was to happen ‘to contain and deter further aggression military, diplomatic and economic capabilities will be needed’, the Telegraph reports.
Among the other knock-on effects would be increases in fuel prices and disruption to supply chains that could hurt the economy for years.
This could be the case if Putin decides to invade a Nato ally, such as Poland, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, or Finland which became the 31st country to join the military pact last year.
Last week Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – all of which were under Soviet occupation for decades after the Second World War – agreed to set up a wall of ‘anti-mobility defensive installations’ in a bid to maintain their security against Russia.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said this week his country was ‘convinced that a real war [with Russia] is a likely possibility’.
There are suggestions the same could happen if Russia also took military action against Britain’s non-Nato allies, such as Sweden.
Sweden has applied to join Nato, but its accession to the organisation has been halted by delays from Turkey and Hungary, the latter of which remains the only country left to accept its application.
When he was Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed an agreement with the Scandinavian country, in which Britain agreed to come to its defence if it came under attack from Russia.
Earlier this week it was reported that the chief of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, was set to warn that UK citizens could be called up to fight in the event of a conflict with Russia.
General Sir Patrick Sanders who issued a warning this week over potential conflicts with foreign adversaries
Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on social and economic development in Kaliningrad on Thursday
Gen Sir Patrick – who has been openly critical of staff shortages in the military – believes there should be a ‘shift’ in the mindset of the public who should be willing to defend the UK against foreign adversaries.
But while the Army head – who is standing down in six months after allegedly falling out with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the overall chief of the Armed Forces – is not thought to be in favour of conscription, Nato bosses have warned allied nations to be prepared to take any and all actions necessary to fight Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The Armed Forces minister James Heappey said that while there were plans to ‘mobilise volunteers’ if such as thing were to happen, ‘nobody is thinking’ about a draft.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman, asked about whether Rishi Sunak could rule out conscription in future circumstances, said: ‘There is no suggestion of that.
‘The Government has no intention to follow through with that. The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that.’
In the meantime, the war in eastern Europe continues to rumble on, with Ukraine dismissing claims that by the Kremlin that 65 prisoners of war died when a Russian transport plane was shot down.
They are convinced Russia invented the story of the tragedy as a propaganda stunt. According to Ukraine, the aircraft was empty when it was shot down, aside from its Russian crew members.
The Mail understands Western security officials share the Ukrainians’ suspicions over who was, or was not, aboard the aircraft. One aspect of Moscow’s account which appears to be bogus surrounds the publication of so-called passenger manifests.
Suspicion also surrounded the content of video footage taken of the crash site in western Russia, which showed a small amount of human remains.
A Russian Intelligence Committee investigator examines the crash site where an Il-76 transport plane came down earlier this week
Moscow has accused Ukraine of killing over 60 Ukrainian prisoners of war; Ukraine has not denied shooting down the plane but has accused Russia of faking the deaths of POWs
Russia claims around 74 people were on board, including more than 60 Ukrainian prisoners of war as well as Russian air crew
Within hours of Wednesday’s crash, Russian media outlets shared lists of who was supposedly aboard the aircraft when it was shot down. But Ukraine said some of those listed had actually been repatriated as part of previous POW exchanges.
The Kremlin claims more than 70 people were travelling in the Ilyushin II-76 aircraft – the POWs and the crew members.
But a video released by Russia’s Investigative Committee showed a block of twisted metal and wires and some human remains from either one or two people. No other human remains were shown.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said: ‘We found Ukrainian citizens on the list who have already been exchanged.
‘Also, if there were photographs and videos of our POWs (at the crash site) Russia would already have posted it.
‘There are not any signs that there were such a large number of people on the plane.’
Lubinets added he was ‘very surprised’ how quickly Russia reacted publicly to the crash.
Russia’s transparency is at odds with previous statements on reported downings of aircraft, when they have typically been far more circumspect.
It offered no comment when Kyiv claimed last week to have downed an A-50 Russian reconnaissance plane and damaged an Il-22 bomber over the Azov Sea.
And when Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash as he flew from Moscow to St Petersburg, Putin said the plane crashed after a grenade was detonated on board. No evidence was forthcoming.