Vladimir Putin may be planning a ‘mini-invasion’ of a NATO country in order to test the West’s resolve, according to Poland’s top spymaster.
Jarosław Stróżyk, head of Poland’s counterintelligence service, claims the Kremlin is considering annexing parts of Estonia and Sweden, as part of a wider plan to take over the Baltic states should Ukraine fall.
‘Putin is certainly already prepared for some mini-operation against one of the Baltic countries, for example, to enter the famous Narva [municipality in Estonia] or to land on one of the Swedish islands,’ he told Polish outlet Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Yet despite his imperialist ambitions, he is currently being held back by the West’s continued support for Ukraine, which has been stronger than anticipated.
He added: ‘What the West is doing together to support Ukraine shows him that in the event of an attack on Nato, the Western response would be even greater.’
Recent weeks have seen a number of European countries issue warnings about Putin’s increased aggression as NATO members have begun making preparations for the next phase of the war.
Poland has already said they are willing to host nuclear weapons on their borders as Russia seeks to relocate parts of their nuclear arsenal to neighbouring Belarus and fortify Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave located between Lithuania and Poland.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said: ‘Russia is increasingly militarising Kaliningrad. Recently it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus.
“If our allies decide to deploy nuclear arms on our territory as part of nuclear sharing, to reinforce Nato’s eastern flank, we are ready to do so.
‘I’ve already talked about it several times. I must admit that when asked about it, I declared our readiness.’
Meanwhile, Belarusian president and Putin crony President Aleksandr Lukashenko warned that the escalating conflict could result in a nuclear ‘apocalypse’.
Both Russian and Belarusian troops have been stationed on Belarus’ borders since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and Lukashenko recently said his men would reach the Polish border in a matter of hours if conflict escalates.
Lukashenko said: ‘From Vitebsk we’ve transferred a couple of battalions and are 1715160126 standing head to head with Nato.
‘These battalions are at full operational readiness, with a readiness of three hours from leaving their place of deployment.
‘Three hours and we’re there.’
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
