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10 ways world could spiral into nuke war as summer of Putin victories would mark first steps to WW3, army bosses warn
Scroll down to see The Sun's graphic on how Putin's summer offensive could turn into WW3 in 10 steps
A RAMPAGING Vladimir Putin will make serious breakthroughs in Ukraine this Summer - his first move towards plunging Europe into a bloody WW3, former army bosses have warned.
Putin's meat-grinder forces will smash through Ukraine's weakened defences and take the Donbas region by late June if the West doesn't act now, former British generals and security experts told The Sun.
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The former NATO and British army chiefs said a victory in the embattled Donbas would be the beginning of the end for Ukraine - and European civilisation as we know it.
They revealed that the world will descend into a nuclear WW3 within the year if Ukraine doesn't hold against Russia's feared Summer offensive - in 10 short steps.
General Sir Richard Shirreff and General Richard Barrons warned an emboldened Putin would advance across south Ukraine before taking Moldova and sowing chaos across the Baltics with false-flag attacks.
At the same time, Kyiv would demand a no-fly zone the moment Russia breaks through and marches towards Kyiv while French President Emmanuel Macron will put boots on the ground.
The ex-army chiefs warned a furious Putin would respond by striking Macron's troops with tactical nuclear weapons and the world would descend into a deadly WW3.
General Shirreff, General Barrons and Michael Clarke, the former head of the RUSI think tank, told The Sun this dystopian future could become a reality if the West doesn't act now and provide Ukraine with enough weapons to emerge victorious against Russia.
STEP 1: Putin takes the Donbas region
Clarke, now a Professor of War Studies at King's College London, said Putin is under pressure to break through Ukraine's front lines quickly in the next couple of months - and he aims to take the Donbas before time runs out.
Ukrainian troops are now fighting fierce battles against Russian forces in the Kharkiv region after they launched a surprise new assault last Friday.
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Clarke warned this Kharkiv assault is all part of Putin's plan to take the Donbas and boast of a 'victory' in Ukraine to those back home.
He said the Russians are trying to create a northern front that will advance to the southern Donbas where they will meet other units to create a united force that can take the region by the end of June.
UK must build a Putin-pounding military like Poland - or he'll steamroll over us, ex-general warns
Russian forces are already making headway and eating away at Ukraine's territory with its new offensive - underscoring the acute ammunition and manpower shortages crippling the Ukrainian army.
STEP 2: Putin revamps army & strikes Ukraine
Clarke said if Putin does take the Donbas in June, the Russian despot's calculation will be that the West will lean on Ukraine to give up the region.
The former RUSI director told The Sun: "That would be a victory for Putin and that would give him 12 months before he makes another land grab. He'll want more, he won't stop there."
Clarke said in those 12 months Putin would rebuild his army - ready to strike and finish what he started in Ukraine and take on the West.
He explained: "If Putin took the Donbas, it would leave him in charge of the deck of cards and he would be able to deal them as he sees fit."
Clarke warned Putin would take Odesa to the south of Ukraine as far as the Moldovan border - but he wouldn't stop there.
STEP 3: Putin takes over Georgia and Moldova
The defence and security expert warned Putin would move against Georgia and pocket the country as part of his ever-growing sphere of power.
He said Putin is already at work in Georgia, where thousands are protesting against a "foreign influence" law adopted by the parliament on Tuesday.
Analysts say the law is just another sign the ex-Soviet republic is shifting away from a pro-Western course back toward Russia.
Clarke said after taking control over Georgia, Putin's forces would quickly invade Moldova via the Russian-controlled enclave of Transnistria on Ukraine's border.
STEP 4: Russia creates crises in the Baltics
The next step would be for Putin to create crises in the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - and sow chaos across Europe with cyber and terror attacks using far-right thugs.
Clarke warned: "In Estonia and Latvia, there is a high population of Russian speakers. Putin will say they are being persecuted to create tensions as part of a hybrid operation."
In February, Estonia's security agency said it had arrested 10 people suspected of sabotage, spreading fear and creating tension within the Baltic county in a coordination operation by Russia's spies.
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STEP 5: Putin launches attacks across Europe & Baltic states mobilise forces
General Barrons agrees and warned that at the same time, Putin would spark chaos across Europe by launching cyber and terror attacks by far-right thugs.
He told The Sun: "Putin will try to upset and destabilise the West using cyber attacks and organised crime."
Just last week, intelligence sources revealed Putin's spies and Wagner fighters are recruiting far-right thugs to carry out terror attacks in Britain in revenge for supplying Ukraine with aid.
And amid the growing tensions in the Baltics, Nato states that border Ukraine will begin to mobilise, Barrons said.
But that will take time for Nato troops to move ammunition and soldiers to bulk the border states' defences.
STEP 6: Russian forces invade Lithuania
Sensing weakness, Putin's bloodthirsty troops will attack Lithuania via the Suwalki Gap, a tiny strip of land run by Russia, with the help of the despot's key ally Belarus.
Clarke said Lithuania is Nato's weak point as it's located next to Suwalki Gap and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
He explained: "Russia could create tensions in the region by creating false-flag attacks to make it look like the West was attacking Russian forces along the Suwalki Gap.
"As Hitler did with the Dansig corridor by Poland in 1939 - Putin would use the false-flag attacks to create a crisis in the West and a pre-text to march into parts of Lithuania."
STEP 7: Nato unravels
Clarke warned Nato will quickly unravel, with southern members like Hungary, Slovakia and Austria likely to do deals with Putin.
He said: "Seeing the chaos in the Baltics, Nato will start to disassemble itself because the southern members of the alliance will go over to Russia and do deals with Putin.
"They would believe Nato is dead effectively so it's in their best interests to make Russia an ally.
"That would be a big strategic gain for Russia because he would know that he has made Nato irrelevant. You'd still have headed paper with Nato on it, but it wouldn't mean very much anymore."
STEP 8: Ukraine demands no-fly zone
Back in Ukraine, with its dwindling defences due to a lack of Western aid and foresight, Russian forces will be advancing "relentlessly" across Ukraine.
General Barrons said the worst-case scenario would be Nato troops going to war with Russia.
He explained: "If Russian forces are moving through Ukraine and Ukraine can't stop them, that poses big questions about the viability of Ukraine as a functioning state.
"The day that Ukraine feels that it is about to be defeated, Kyiv will demand a Nato no-fly zone which means the West goes to war with Russia."
Barrons explained that a no-fly zone means Russian aircraft and missiles heading for Ukraine would have to be shot down.
STEP 9: France deploys troops to Ukraine
General Barrons said the worst-case scenario would also see President Macron deploy troops to Ukraine.
He pointed to how the French president said last month he wouldn't rule out putting boots on the ground if there was a Russian breakthrough.
General Shirreff agrees and told The Sun: "I think General Barron's worst-case scenario prediction is absolutely right, that Nato troops would have to get involved in a war against Russia to stop them."
The former top Nato boss said there is no treaty obligation for Nato to respond to an attack on Ukraine.
"But what you could see is bilateral support from individual Nato nations like France who would deploy French troops to Ukraine."
STEP 10: Putin launches tactical nukes
General Barrons said that could spark a nuclear war, with a furious Putin firing tactical nukes at French troops on the ground.
He said: "When Macron said he didn't rule out sending troops to Ukraine, Putin immediately raised the nuclear spectre.
"Within an hour of Macron sending soldiers into Ukraine, Putin will threaten to strike the French troops with tactical nuclear weapons.
"Then you're in the most dangerous game of bluff since the Cuban missile crisis - and it could spark nuclear war if Putin does strike."
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko warned last month that the rising tensions between Russia and the West could turn into a nuclear "apocalypse".
And during his Victory Day parade speech earlier this month, Putin vowed Russia is "always" ready to strike the West with his nukes.
How the West can stop nuclear WW3
General Barrons, General Shirreff and Professor Clarke all say of these horrifying 10 steps don't have to happen.
Clarke said: "It doesn't have to be this way. The more we fail to meet the immediate challenge, the more likely that these steps will follow.
"If the West doesn't act now, we leave ourselves with not much alternative but to face this dystopian future."
General Barrons said the West is creating a perfect world for Putin - by consistently providing Ukraine with just enough equipment to defend against Russian forces rather than defeating them.
He said: "The perfect world for Putin is the West elects to do not very much, which is where we are right now.
"The West hasn't protected itself and Putin is moving more quickly."
US rushes in military aid & Zelensky cancels trip: The latest on Russia's new offensive
THE US has rushed through military aid after Ukraine admitted its forces were on the retreat in areas and President Volodymyr Zelensky cancelled all upcoming foreign trips.
This is the latest on the major new Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has massed more than half a million troops on the northeastern front in a bid to overpower Kyiv's stretched defences and battle-weary troops.
Ukraine is desperately trying to hold the line, but Russia has a significant advantage in manpower and munitions and is pushing their advantage, seizing miles of ground in days.
The blitz, said to be the first stage of Russia’s summer offensive, is designed to finally break through the stalemate by throwing troops into human wave assaults.
Royal United Services Institute war expert Dr Jack Watling told The Sun that unless Ukraine could muster more troops its prospects were bleak as Russia had “significant numerical superiority”.
Kyiv said the Russian push appeared to have run out of steam on Tuesday — but, in the face of Putin’s 500,000-strong force, warned that could change quickly.
On Wednesday, Moscow claimed its forces have pushed deeper into the Kharkiv region and captured the symbolic town of Robotyne - one of the only prizes of Ukraine's muted summer counteroffensive.
General Barrons said the West's current strategy relies on Russian incompetence and a belief that they won't be organised enough to attack.
He added: "The UK government is saying, 'the world is changing and we can't afford to ignore it - but actually out economy can't afford to do much about it now but we'll get back to it'.
"They've just opened up a window of vulnerability to Russia that is not waiting for us or Europe to wake up.
"Our leaders are taking a gamble with European defence security. That's not a calculated risk."
Clarke said Europe and Nato as a whole needs to provide more funding and ammunition to Ukraine as well as build their own war economies to deter Russia from striking the West.
Clarke warned: "We need to have a war economy, we're done with peace. We've had over 40 years of it and it's now over."
Our leaders are taking a gamble with European defence security. That's not a calculated risk.
General Sir Richard Barrons
Shirreff and Barrons said if Donald Trump is elected as US president in November, he would likely pull the US out of Nato.
That would leave Europe flailing to pick up the slack without the US's military might and assets worth $3.8trillion.
They pointed to how nearly 20 countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain fail to pay the required 2 per cent of their GDP on defence.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that Europe is not ready for a devastating escalation of the war in Ukraine should Putin prove victorious.
The veteran politician gave a chilling message, saying Europe has entered a "pre-war era" worringly similar to 1939 - when Hitler prepared to invade Poland.
General Barrons agreed and said European Nato members must bolster their defences rather than looking at each other to foot the bill for the alliance's defence.
He said while Europe squabbles over who should pay what, Russia has increased its defence spending to 6 per cent of GDP.
General Barrons warned that the 10 steps towards WW3 could happen if the West doesn't act now.
He said: "The point is, there is no script. There is no guarantee of our security in the West.
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"People often say these scenarios of a WW3 are unthinkable. Well actually, it's just unpalatable.
"Unless we set the conditions and set the terms ourselves - to deter Russia and make Ukraine win - the unpalatable becomes our future."
Putin critics will never give up the fight
ALEXEI Navalny's close ally Leonid Volkov has sent out a warning to Vlad and his Kremlin cronies that he will "never give up
Leonid made the passionate plea saying he will make sure the late Navalny's huge efforts to expose Putin wouldn't "be in vain".
The 43-year-old was attacked as he was sat in his car last month, with the unknown assailant smashing his window before spraying tear gas into his eyes.
The brutal attacker then hit Volkov with a hammer 15 times in what Lithuania's president described as a “pre-planned” assault carried out by Putin’s cronies.
Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya has been seen as the new "charismatic" leader of the opposition movement.
She was a strong voice against the election calling for spoiled ballots and protests on the street.
Leonid and Yulia called on Russian voters to join a peaceful protest on the final day of Putin's sham elections.
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