A military expert has identified the three countries they believe Russia is most likely to invade as tensions across eastern Europe continue to escalate.
With NATO launching a major conscription drive to strengthen its eastern flank and the Labour government warning that Russia represents an "enduring and significant threat", fears are growing that the European continent could be edging towards conflict once again.
Baltic states most at risk
Last week, amid mounting speculation, military author and historian David Swift spoke about which countries were most at risk of invasion, as NATO jets were scrambled over Poland and Romania following Russian strikes landing dangerously close to the former's border with Ukraine.
Although eight countries border Russia's western region, Mr Swift identified three as the most likely targets for military action. He said: "Definitely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are the most vulnerable because of geography and their small size and populations.
"Lithuania has the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to its west and Belarus to its East so is particularly vulnerable to some kind of deniable action by paramilitaries or forces not overtly wearing Russian uniforms, as with the 'Little Green Men' who invaded the Donbas in 2014."
Poland dismissed as target
While Lithuania and Poland are reportedly drawing up cross-border evacuation plans for the Baltic States, Mr Swift dismissed the latter as a likely target, stating it "is much stronger and I imagine Putin wouldn't want to test it yet".
Beyond discussing which eastern European nations could face invasion, Mr Swift also outlined which groups in Britain might be encouraged to register for something resembling a war register.
War register proposals
While recent days have centred on the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, it was at the Liberal Democrats' gathering in Brighton last week that a war register scheme was proposed.
A war register, unlike conscription, is a voluntary system and database where individuals express their readiness to support their country during an attack.
Regarding who would be most inclined to register for such a scheme, Mr Swift said: "If there was something explicit and obvious, like ground troops or airstrikes against a NATO country, then we would see a serious response and new sense of urgency from the British government, and something like the war register, which I think a lot of people would sign up for.
"I think it could be a useful way of mobilising people for non-military tasks, although presumably it would largely recruit from more middle class people, as with those offering refuge to Ukrainians, etc. In fact it's no coincidence the Lib Dems are pushing this."
Conscription exemptions
Mr Swift has also discussed who would and wouldn't be most likely to face conscription should it be reintroduced. He said: "Since there is such an urgent need to rebuild Britain's defence industries and industrial capacity, I would expect that people in these important occupations would be exempt.
"Or even that people could be 'conscripted' into working in these industries. Military conscription would target unemployed graduates - this would be very popular with lots of people."
