Troops slaughtered, cash dwindling & support waning…why Putin risking WW3 with Nato attack is growing LIKELIER each day

VLADIMIR Putin is being pushed closer and closer towards a last-ditch attack on Nato as he fights to save face in Russia, an expert has warned. Putin is facing a string of worrying crises on his doorstep with his national support beginning to wane, the Kremlin’s cash dwindling and his war with Ukraine now at an embarrassing stalemate for the despot. Vladimir Putin holds a meeting aboard the Guards missile cruiser Varyag this week Credit: EPA Smoke rises in Kyiv during a Russian missile blitz this week Credit: Reuters British paratroopers exit an American Chinook during Nato training at an undisclosed training ground close to the Russian border in Finland Credit: PA A Russian 220mm heavy multiple launch rocket system Uragan firing at an undisclosed location in Ukraine Credit: EPA With his back up against the wall, Putin could choose to risk it all and attempt a World War Three-stoking attack on a Nato nation, according to longtime Kremlin critic and Brit banker Bill Browder. The gamble would aim to test who is truly on Ukraine‘s side and would be aimed at the US with Russia hoping they would avoid being drawn into a conflict despite Article 5 of the Nato treaty. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! One theory is Putin could grab a city in Poland, or one of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – all Nato nations which have strongly backed Ukraine during the war. A new US intelligence report even revealed this week that US officials fear Putin is plotting a small-scale land incursion to test the alliance. Thick plumes of smoke rise from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow Credit: Reuters Bill told The Sun: “Putin has reached a stalemate in his war with Ukraine. It’s been going on for more than four years, and he’s unable to gain more territory. “He’s losing between 1,000 to 1,500 troops a day. His oil refineries and warehouses of online retailers are being bombed by the Ukrainians. “And the Ukrainians are developing more and more sophisticated weapons so they’ve reached a stalemate – and, of course, he’s short on money.” Russia’s faltering economy is one of the biggest issues hampering the war, he says. Most read in The Sun Ukraine’s relentless strikes have focused on hitting key economic areas such as warehouses owned by Wildberries – known as Russia’s Amazon – and gas and oil sites, leaving huge parts of the nation cash strapped. This directly impacts the battlefield too, as Putin is known to recruit men to fight in Ukraine by promising to pay them good money. Bill said: “Russia is in a very weak position because they need to replenish their soldiers to carry on the war. “But money is what Putin uses to hire more troops as he pays them to go to the frontline.” Earlier this week, Zelensky said Russia is planning a ‘rapid mobilisation of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year’ Credit: AP A rescuer extinguishes a fire in a car destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Despite this, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has already warned Putin is preparing for a mass mobilisation in the coming months. Earlier this week, he said Russia is planning a “rapid mobilisation of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year”. One way the Kremlin could achieve such a major uptake in fighters is to stop paying troops and instead make fighting in Ukraine mandatory. Bill continued: “There are very strong rumors that Russia will impose a full conscription which means that all young men between a certain age will be required to go and fight in the war. “If that happens, it will be enormously unpopular. It will bring the war home to every household in Russia. “And that’s the dilemma that Putin is facing right now.” Putin’s recruitment drive has raised fears he may be looking to pull off a major operation in order to gain back some control in Europe after months of dwindling success in the war. Bill warns there is one possible last-ditch plan Putin could try to pull off to win the war. He said: “If Putin can’t get more troops because he doesn’t have the money then he’s in a bind. “And so what does he do in this bind? Well, the one thing he could do is test whether Article 5 of Nato is real. Putin shakes hands with Donald Trump after the pair met in Alaska last year Credit: AFP via Getty Images Devastating Ukrainian strikes tear through two giant ‘Russian Amazon’ logistics hubs in Elektrostal near Moscow Credit: East2West “He may want to test it specifically to change the whole nature of the war. “If he were to attack a Nato country he might do that with the expectation that Trump doesn’t get involved. “And then he’s got this situation where you have Nato without America which Putin can use for his own gain.” Bill says the Kremlin could turn Trump’s refusal to support Europe into a weapon of their own. They could demand countries stop funding Ukraine and supplying weapons or risk war with Russia. “That may be Putin’s best way to win this war with Ukraine as if Ukraine doesn’t get European funding, they will lose the war,” Bill added. It follows weeks of brutal and deadly strikes from both Russia and Ukraine. Overnight, a “massive” Ukrainian drone and missile strike blitzed Russia’s port of Novorossiysk. It reportedly damaged two major grain export terminals and hit the last major Russian naval base on the Black Sea. Zelensky hailed it a “unique operation” using rockets, jets and naval drones. Moscow launched aerial strikes which killed at least 11 civilians in Ukraine across Tuesday and Wednesday. The majority were killed when Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with ballistic missiles and glide bombs. Comment now