Russia has issued a warning to the UK, with fears that Vladimir Putin could escalate his war and target three NATO member states. The CIA director has reportedly warned the Kremlin against attacking the alliance during a secret visit this week.
Storm Shadow missile technology for Ukraine
On Monday, Andy Burnham said the UK would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to begin producing its own Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, with France also agreeing to supply missile technology.
Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that the UK and France are "playing with fire".
Responding to the latest threats from Russia, a Ministry of Defence official has reiterated UK support for Ukraine. They said: "Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion. Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this government to stand against Russian aggression, in Ukraine and against the UK and our allies."
CIA director's warning to Moscow
John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA, flew to Moscow this week to warn Putin against attacking any member of the alliance. Ratcliffe's surprise visit is the first by a director of the CIA since William Burns travelled to Moscow in 2021 to warn against the invasion of Ukraine, suggesting serious concerns about an attack on NATO.
A source briefed on Ratcliffe's trip told Politico that the primary purpose was to warn Moscow against "any escalatory action against the Baltic states". Potentially attractive targets include Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as former members of the Soviet Union.
A Baltic security source with knowledge of defences and strategic planning on the eastern flank said "we have to keep it cool but stay vigilant," in response to the new warnings of a Russian attack.
False-flag fears and military readiness
Moscow could stage a false-flag attack in which Estonia’s security forces are accused of killing or wounding Russian-heritage citizens to raise tensions, reports the Telegraph. The Kremlin would be able to use its toolkit from the 2014 invasion of Crimea, when "little green men" – supposedly Crimean residents taking action to defend the Russian-heritage population but later acknowledged to have been Moscow’s soldiers – took up arms. The nickname arose due to the soldiers unmarked green uniforms, which included no badges to maintain distance from the Kremlin.
Such an attack into the Baltics now would not need to be as large an operation as that in 2014, claimed Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank.
Asked by reporters about Ratcliffe's visit to Russia and the alleged warning issued, US President Trump said: "I don’t want to comment on that, but they’re not going to attack."
NATO countries nearby Russia have increased their military readiness due to concerns of attacks with Poland announcing this week it had taken delivery of its first shipment of South Korean Black Panther main battle tanks, which will be deployed near the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
Despite the preparation Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said: "A lot of this kind of scare-story material is being published right now. Of course, it has nothing to do with reality and nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation."
