Putin’s next target in his chilling plan to ‘break’ NATO as he sets his sights on the weak link region after the elections

Putin is about to target the Baltic states with missiles as part of a chilling plan to ‘break’ NATO after his sham re-election, a former Ukrainian lawmaker has warned.

Aliona Hlivco believes the power-hungry tyrant will step up his invasion and may even destroy areas beyond. Ukraine.

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Aging dictator PutinThe 71-year-old president will consolidate his grip on power in Russia until at least 2030, with millions heading to the polls this weekend.

But with any an opposition figure who could have challenged him in prison, in exile or in deathThere is little hope that the elections will be free or fair.

It means the tyrant – the Kremlin’s longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin – is destined for a fifth term at the country’s helm.

Experts fear this could embolden Russia’s glory-mad leader to burnish his legacy with an invasion of Europe.

And bomb German intelligence documents indicate he could launch a large-scale attack on the West as soon as 2026.

German Spooks, who recently reported a “significant intensification of the Russian weapons,” fears that Putin’s army is preparing for something big.

Signs of reorganization in the Russian military, troop movements and missile deployments in the west of the country could all indicate that Russia will double its military power in the coming years.

Ms Hlivco, now managing director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, warned that Mr Putin has “mastered the hybrid tactics that have proven quite disruptive to the West and at minimal cost to the Kremlin”.

The ex-Ukrainian politician believes Putin’s next move could be an attack on the Baltic states.

She told The Sun: “As far as the Baltics are concerned, in my view the threat is real.

“Not only in terms of hybrid attacks by arming migrants or a cyber attack to demobilize critical infrastructure, but also a kinetic attack with missiles etc.

‘We have already seen debris from Russian missiles falling on NATO territory (Poland and Romania) without a strong response.

“So I think Russia will try to take advantage of that and test NATO’s resolve in the North.

“The Baltic states have already strengthened their borders with Russia where possible and mobilized their populations to be ready to defend their country if the need arises.”

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon believes Latvia or Lithuania – both Baltic countries – could be the first in Putin’s line of fire.

He warned that the “deranged megalomaniac” will “throw everything into Ukraine’s meat grinder” as he desperately tries to gain ground more than two years after his invasion.

The former army commander said it is likely that Putin will next go to war with the West if he sees success in Ukraine.

He told The Sun: “I think he’s doing everything he can at the moment [in Ukraine].

‘He is throwing everything into the ‘meat grinder’ in the hope of surviving Western support, which is likely to decline at the end of this year.

“If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he will go to war with the West.

“He will attack Latvia and Lithuania first – and they are both NATO.”

If Putin attacks a NATO country, Article 5 would be triggered – meaning other countries in the alliance would come to their ally’s aid and take necessary action.

Troops from Britain and the US could be sent to defend against it Russia – which could lead to all-out war with the West.

Former US General Ben Hodges warned Donald Trump return to the White House could make the situation worse.

He told The Sun: ‘Putin’s plans are to destroy Ukraine and break NATO by testing whether the US and other members of the alliance will actually respond to a limited attack on a NATO country.

“If he sees that we do not want or cannot help Ukraine win, he will feel encouraged.

“In the unfortunate event of Trump’s return to the White House, and if Trump does what he has threatened to do for years – turn his back on NATO allies – Putin will see an opportunity to attack NATO.

“It is not inevitable, but Putin will certainly try to rebuild his army for such a campaign in the coming years.

“That is why preparedness and preparations of all NATO countries and cohesion within the alliance are essential to prevent such a terrible miscalculation by Putin.”

NUKE FEAR

In a speech just two weeks ago said Putin warned that the West is in danger of being destroyed as he railed against Russia’s elites for more than two hours.

But Mr De Bretton-Gordon stressed that while the power-hungry Putin could unleash attacks on the West, he is unlikely to use nuclear weapons.

He added: “Putin knows it confuses many Western leaders when he talks about nuclear power – but it’s a bluff.

“Even if his tactical nuclear weapons work, he knows the US and Britain would destroy them by conventional means before he could fire them.

“It would also be an excuse for the West to use overwhelming convention resources to destroy Russian forces in Ukraine.

‘NATO is collectively much more powerful militarily than Russia.

“Putin may be a deranged megalomaniac, but he is not completely stupid.”

He also believes Putin cares more about Russia and its legacy than its nuclear weapons.

He said: ‘Putin will never choose Armageddon because that would be the end of his dream for a greater Russia.

“He’s huge on his legacy and that’s why he doesn’t want to destroy the planet.

“But he is a master strategist when it comes to manipulating the West’s weaker leaders.

“He is bluffing about nuclear weapons and the sooner we realize this, the better.”

Mr Hodges added: “Of course we have to accept it [the threat of nukes] seriously, since Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons and clearly doesn’t care how many innocent people they kill, including their own.

‘But the chance that they will use a nuclear bomb is almost zero.

“They know that there are no positive consequences for them if they use a nuclear bomb, but that their nuclear weapons are most effective when they don’t actually use them.”

It comes as polling stations are open for three days instead of one for the first time, and online voting is an option in 27 Russian regions and Crimea, which Putin illegally seized a decade ago.

The brash Putin has also opened voting in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson – despite Russian forces not having full control of them.

The tyrant orchestrated constitutional reforms so that he could run for two more terms.

Previously, the Russian government limited presidents to no more than two consecutive six-year terms.

But in 2020 Putin has pushed through an amendment exempting himself from presidential terms until 2036 – by which time he will be 83.

Ms Hlivco said: “When it comes to Putin, he has been able to stay in power all his life.

“Given his age, I doubt he will see the third term, but he will certainly try to hand over power to someone who will guarantee security to his family, if not directly to one of his daughters themselves.

“There are rumors within the Russian opposition that he is preparing his senior to intervene.”

Mr. Hodges believes that when Putin is inevitably re-elected, he will have three main goals.

He said: “One – continue to consolidate his power. Two – continues its campaign to destroy Ukraine. Three – rebuild its military for continued operations against countries on its periphery, including potential NATO countries.

“This is why it is essential that we help Ukraine defeat Russia, otherwise Russia will never change and Putin will eventually be replaced by another Putin-like autocrat.

‘We have a generational opportunity to fix/improve European security for decades, if we don’t waste it.’

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