How vengeful Putin will unleash multi-pronged hybrid attack on series of Baltic airports to tear Nato apart for good

DESPERATE Vladimir Putin could test Nato with a “large-scale hybrid attack” on the Baltic, experts warn. Russia is increasingly targeting its neighbouring states in a reckless bid to pressure the military alliance into pulling its support for Ukraine. Troops equipped with ABC (Atomic, Biological and Chemical) gear in a Nato exercise in Lithuania Credit: Getty Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly reckless in his bid to defeat Ukraine Credit: AFP But experts warn Moscow’s threat reaches far further – and could spark the collapse of Nato and European solidarity. Edward Lucas, founder of the Baltic Internal Security Centre, told The Sun: “We’ve been warned by our allies about the danger of Putin’s imperial dreams and his aim to try and restore the old Soviet Union. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “And we were very complacent about it. Now we are getting wake up calls. And they’re alarming ones. “This is all over the place. The front line runs right through the middle of Europe and into us here in Britain.” Lithuanian soldiers secure the area where Nato fighter jets downed a drone Credit: AP It comes as a drone, likely Russian, was found washed up on a beach in Poland Credit: KosiniakKamysz/ X Nato jets scrambled to shoot down a drone in Lithuania overnight after the latest suspected Russian incursion into the Baltic states airspace. Just hours earlier chaos broke out in the Baltic sea, where a Russian frigate fired flares at a Danish defence helicopter and another drone washed up on a Polish beach. The triple overnight threat comes amid growing concern about Russian aggression across the Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Just last week Moscow threatened a “devastating” response after Nato activated its Baltic-air policing mission to deter drone incursions near Estonia. Most read in The Sun Nato jets were scrambled to shoot down a drone that entered Lithuania (file picture) Credit: AP Military analyst Michael Clarke told The Sun: “Estonia is the most vulnerable of all of the Baltic states. “An attack on Estonia in the next couple of months is entirely plausible and the forces there are on full alert for it.” The UK stations a rapid response force of more than 1,000 troops equipped with high-tech military gear in Estonia. In July the Ministry of Defence announced a new UK-Estonia defence roadmap to deepen military cooperation and strengthen Nato’s eastern flank. Clarke said: “We’re building up to some sort of military confrontation.” Nato’s response to a Russian attack on a European state is crucial, Nicu Popescu, European security expert and former Deputy Prime-Minister of Moldova told The Sun. He said: “There could be a situation where an EU state is tested by Russia sparking a breakdown of solidarity throughout Europe. “The danger is in the grey zone. Nato troops attend a Swift Response military exercise in Estonia Credit: EPA Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters participate in the Quadriga military exercises involving German, French, Lithuanian and Dutch troops Credit: Getty “This includes a large-scale, hybrid attack on multiple airports across the Baltic region. “The risk is, this situation requires a response but the conversation in Europe turns to deliberation – was it Russia, how do you respond, when do you respond ? “If some Nato states respond with support and others stall – then you are at risk of a fracture through Europe and Nato.” But Putin’s threat is not isolated to the Baltic, Popescu warned. There have been at least a dozen drone alerts along Nato’s eastern flank over the past two months. Germany explicitly held Moscow responsible for a botched drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August. Popescu said: “Moscow has proved its ability to reach many EU states with its attacks on Moldova, Poland and Romania.” Close Putin aide and former FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev declared Tuesday that Russia could obliterate Poland in “two or three days”. Patrushev’s threats came as Poland responded to a Russian drone attack just two miles from its border on Sunday. Kyiv suggested the attack was targeting a previous “diplomatic” train carrying high-profile figures including former UK PM Boris Johnson. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned: “These coming weeks and months will be a time of very intensified actions on the Russian side, and unfortunately we cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory.” Several political leaders and intelligence agencies in Nato have warned of an imminent possible escalation against Poland or one of the Baltic states. Smoke rises from the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine Credit: EPA A firefighter walks among debris at a destroyed pharmaceutical warehouse following Russian drone attacks on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine Intensifying Russian aggression towards the West this summer culminated in CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s surprise visit to Moscow on August 25. Ratcliffe reportedly warned the Kremlin not to attack Nato member states during his visit. Popescu said: “Moscow is clearly ramping up pressure on EU countries and societies – both in the quantity and aggression of its attacks. “They serve multiple purposes, economic, political and military. “The implicit message is to threaten societies – to feed the sentiment that if you help Ukraine you become part of this war.” Moscow’s spate of attacks come as Ukraine faces mounting pressure to restock its missile interceptors amid fears Putin is planning a brutal winter offensive. Kyiv spent the summer blitzing oil depots before shifting its crosshairs to a series of strikes that have crippled Russia’s largest e-commerce platform. The operation has tanked Russia’s already reeling economy – wiping out businesses, suffocating trade and sparking nationwide fuel shortages. Putin now faces immense pressure from the Russian public to end the war as he approaches elections this month. Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelensky has said the tyrant is planning to draft over 300,000 new troops to help pummel Ukraine’s defences and take the rest of Donetsk. As Russia steps up its production of ballistic missiles – now at a rate of more than 100 a month – Kyiv’s supplies of interceptors have tumbled. Ukraine is trying to get an additional 300 Patriot missiles from its partners this winter, but there is no guarantee. British paratroopers exit an American Chinook during drills less than 50km from the Russian border in Finland Credit: PA A Russian rocket launch system Uragan firing at an undisclosed location in Ukraine Credit: EPA Putin is also making a series of strategic developments within his own armed forces to bolster Russia’s attack potential. Moscow has started to deploy a high-speed jet variant of its Iranian Shahed drone model – capable of reaching targets almost 620 miles away. Named Geran-4 and Geran-5, the UAVs can evade air defence systems while carrying a 90kg payload, according to Ukrainian government documents leaked online. Dozens of drone launch sites have emerged along Russia’s border – placing Nato allies well within reach of the dictator’s war machine. Images showed enough storage at one base for more than 1,000 drones to be kept on site at one time. Missiles launched from the secret sites could reach Nato territory with “the greatest of ease”, European affairs expert, Professor Anthony Glees previously told The Sun. Popescu said: “There is no realistic scenario where Russia defeats the United Nations or Europe even without the US. “But you cannot assume your enemies have the same mental framework as you do. “Russia might misjudge Europe’s resolve to fight – they may think Europe is weaker than it is.” Europe must now play a careful balancing act – challenge Russia without escalating the threat of war and continue its support for Ukraine, Popescu said. He added: “The Russian goal was never just Donbas – it was to occupy or control most of Ukraine and turn it into a country with no sovereign right.” “We might have a ceasefire but the Russian objectives will always be there and the threat will always be very high. “We need to build Ukraine into a country that can resist this threat for decades ahead.” Comment now