Historian and geopolitical strategist Dr Sarah Paine has warned that a Russian invasion of Poland could trigger World War Three, describing the potential nuclear conflict as "obscene" in its likely death toll.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Dr Paine said the world would descend into World War Three "if we continue in the current direction of travel." Her warning comes amid soaring global tensions, governments urging citizens to stockpile essentials, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict nearing five years of fighting.
Putin's aggression toward NATO
Dr Paine pointed to recent incidents of Russian drones entering Romanian airspace as evidence of Putin's willingness to push aggression against NATO members. She said: "When he is threatening NATO countries, he has been violating airspace in the last few days, sending drones into the territorial waters of Romania, and they were shot down."
She added: "At some point, you're into Article 5 territory. Europeans don't want to do it because it will be an ever-loving mess." Article 5 of the NATO treaty dictates that an armed attack on one member state is deemed an attack on all members.
Nuclear war prediction
When podcast host Steven Bartlett asked whether a Russian invasion of Poland would trigger World War Three, Dr Paine agreed it would. She then delivered her assessment of what such a conflict could entail: "I have no idea (what World War Three would look like). But you can get on a nice computer program, pick your mega tonnage of a nuclear weapon and you can put it over a city of your choice and see how many people die. It's obscene."
She continued: "And that's the problem with having these dark personalities running countries like Putin. He doesn't care how many people he kills."
Potential invasion targets in the UK
The warning follows comments from Gene Sticco, a national security specialist and former Air Force nuclear protection expert, who identified UK locations that could be targeted. He stated: "Certainly anywhere near the US and NATO facilities. Otherwise, the key military centres - Telford, Plymouth, South Yorkshire, and the South East and South West of England."
When asked to pinpoint the most likely target in Britain, he replied: "Naval centres - this is the UK's strength and lifeline. Strike at Plymouth and Barrow-in-Furness."
