Defiant despot Putin issues brazen threat to West and warns neighbours of ‘what will follow’ – as government reveals one in four chance Russia will attack a UK ally in the next two years

A defiant Vladimir Putin has issued a brazen threat to the West during a surprise trip to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The despot warned that countries bordering the territory of the Baltic Sea are not prepared for “what will follow” after many decided to demolish Soviet war memorials.

During his surprise visit on Thursday, during which Putin flew close to NATO airspace, the 71-year-old told students at Kant Baltic Federal University: “This is a staggering ignorance and lack of understanding of where they live, what they do and what they do. will follow.’

The region, bordered by Poland and Lithuania, both of which were previously occupied by the Soviet Union before regaining their independence, is considered the most likely flashpoint for a conflict between Russia and NATO.

It comes as the British government has revealed it believes there is a one in four chance that Russia will attack one of Britain’s allies in the next two years, potentially sparking a war.

As we mark two years since Putin illegally invaded Ukraine, ministers have said any escalation involving attacks on Britain’s allies would require a military response.

Cabinet Office experts have warned that if this were to happen, ‘containing and deterring further aggression will require military, diplomatic and economic capabilities’, the Telegraph reports.

The other knock-on effects would include increases in fuel prices and disruption to supply chains, which could damage the economy for years.

This could be the case if Putin decides to invade a NATO ally such as Poland, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, or Finland, which last year became the 31st country to join the military pact.

Last week, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – all of which were under Soviet occupation for decades after World War II – agreed to set up a wall of “anti-mobility defense installations” in an effort to maintain their security against Russia.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said this week that his country was “convinced that a real war (with Russia) is likely.”

There are suggestions that the same could happen if Russia also took military action against Britain’s non-NATO allies such as Sweden.

Sweden has applied to join NATO, but its accession to the organization has been halted by delays from Turkey and Hungary, the latter of which is the only country still accepting the application.

When he was prime minister, Boris Johnson signed an agreement with the Scandinavian country in which Britain agreed to defend its country if it were attacked by Russia.

Earlier this week it was reported that British Army chief General Sir Patrick Sanders would warn that British citizens could be called up to fight in the event of a conflict with Russia.

General Sir Patrick – who has been openly critical of army staff shortages – believes there needs to be a ‘change’ in the mindset of the public, who should be prepared to defend Britain against foreign adversaries.

But while the army chief – who will resign within six months after reportedly falling out with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the overall chief of the armed forces – is not in favor of conscription, NATO bosses have warned allied countries to be prepared . to take all actions necessary to combat Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said that while there were plans to “mobilize volunteers” if something like this happened, “no one is thinking of a draft”.

Asked whether Rishi Sunak could rule out conscription in future circumstances, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘There is no evidence of that.

‘The government has no intention of continuing with this. The British Army has a proud tradition as a volunteer fighting force. There are no plans to change that.’

Meanwhile, the war in Eastern Europe continues, with Ukraine rejecting Kremlin claims that 65 prisoners of war were killed when a Russian transport plane was shot down.

They are convinced that Russia fabricated the story of the tragedy as a propaganda stunt. According to Ukraine, the plane was empty except for the Russian crew members when it was shot down.

The Mail understands that Western security officials share the Ukrainians’ suspicions about who was or was not on board the plane. One aspect of Moscow’s story that appears bogus concerns the publication of so-called passenger lists.

There was also suspicion about the contents of video footage taken from the crash site in western Russia, which showed a small amount of human remains.

Within hours of Wednesday’s crash, Russian media shared lists of who was believed to have been on board the plane when it was shot down. But Ukraine said some of those named had actually been repatriated as part of previous prisoner of war exchanges.

The Kremlin claims that more than 70 people traveled on the Ilyushin II-76 plane – the prisoners of war and the crew members.

But a video released by Russia’s Investigative Committee showed a block of twisted metal and wires and some human remains of one or two people. No other human remains were shown.

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said: “We found Ukrainian citizens on the list who have already been exchanged.

“And if there were photos and videos of our POWs (at the crash site), Russia would have already posted them.

“There are no signs that there were that many people on the plane.”

Lubinets added that he was “very surprised” at how quickly Russia responded publicly to the crash.

Russia’s transparency is at odds with previous statements on reported aircraft crashes, which have generally been much more circumspect.

It made no comment when Kiev last week claimed to have shot down a Russian A-50 reconnaissance plane and damaged an Il-22 bomber over the Sea of ​​Azov.

And when Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Putin said the plane crashed after a grenade detonated on board. No evidence came.