VLADIMIR Putin is plotting a terrifying final gambit to crush Ukraine as the tyrant ramps up his blistering threats towards the UK.
As tensions between Moscow and Europe reach boiling point, the dictator is preparing to unleash a 300,000-troop “hammer blow” and crank up sabotage attacks on Nato.
Putin’s last roll of the dice could be an aggressive expansion of electronic warfare on a scale the West has never seen before.
Sabotage attacks on European GPS signals “would cause instant massive disruption and chaos”, Russian military expert Keir Giles told The Sun.
The threat of intensified asymmetric warfare on Nato comes as Putin is pushed closer to his wit’s end.
Ukraine‘s stunning strikes on key Russian targets have wreaked havoc for ordinary people – crippling fuel supplies and sparking energy blackouts over the summer.
Putin’s shadow warfare campaign could be coupled with a massive conscription of Russian troops to help punch through Ukraine‘s sturdy frontline.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Putin is planning to draft over 300,000 new recruits to help pummel Ukraine’s defences and take the rest of Donetsk.
Fully capturing the rest of Donetsk has become a key target for Russia due to the Fortress Belt – a 50km-wide defensive line of cities which is vital to pushing enemies back.
A new conscription would be a “hammer blow of extra forces” to rejuvenate Moscow’s barbaric invasion efforts, Russia expert Mark Galeotti told The Sun.
But as Putin looks to up the ante on Nato nations, he will likely rely on one of his tried and tested methods of sparking chaos in Europe – drones.
A string of drone plots have already paralysed major airports – including a terrifying ordeal in Leipzig earlier this month which sparked panic as an explosive-laden UAV was discovered next to a fleet of planes.
It came after several packages burst into flames at warehouses in Birmingham and across Europe in 2024 having been delivered by jets.
The chilling operations are “a really cost effective way of disrupting our lives”, Galeotti said.
Europe’s increasing iron-clad commitment to Kyiv could sink Russia to new lows if it deems the strengthening partnership as a real threat.
On Monday, Andy Burnham handed Kyiv the blueprints to long-range Storm-hadow missiles to help continue Ukraine‘s campaign of strikes on key Russian targets.
Russia hit back with a furious response and issued a chilling threat to strike British military targets.
Kremlin cronies accused the UK, France and Germany of “playing with fire” and said Britain was actively “participating” in the war.
Putin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov blasted Britain for “adding fuel to the fire”.
But Burnham hit back and said: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
This war of words from Russia is designed to sound “scary but ambiguous”, Galeotti said.
International security expert Elisabeth Braw said Europe’s growing united front against Russia could force Putin’s hand and cause a never-before-seen surge in shadow warfare attacks.
She told The Sun: “We’re likely to see more attacks on logistics hubs… but also other airports and railways.”
Putin is plotting riskier gambles to push the boundaries of their shadow warfare campaign to the limit, Giles said.
Some of these have already been “indistinguishable from warlike acts”, he said.
The brazen dictator wants to see how far he can stretch Europe without getting a significant blowback.
And there is one method that Moscow has surprisingly not tested yet – a massive GPS jamming surge.
It could cripple Europe if orchestrated effectively and leave Nato members frozen during periods of crisis.
“We should be watching for the expansion of Russia’s electronic warfare, what’s usually referred to as GPS jamming,” Giles said.
The disruption would be “enormous”, he warned.
He added: “That would cause instant massive disruption and chaos, and it’s a bit of a surprise we haven’t seen Russia testing that yet,” he said.
Putin’s shadow warfare could turn deadly on a dime – and it’s only down to pure luck that civilian casualties in Europe have been limited.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16916640/putins-trump-card-tyrants-troop-roll-dice/
