I was CIA director – Putin WILL go to war with Nato if he beats Ukraine and I know his first target

VLADIMIR Putin’s threats to invade the Baltics and bring a new war to Europe must be taken seriously, a former top US Army general has warned.

General David Petraeus, who served nearly four decades in the US military, said the Russian dictator “won’t be satisfied to stop with Ukraine”.

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Russia tests an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Plesetsk facility[/caption]

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Vladimir Putin has made repeated threats to unleash nuclear weapons on the world[/caption]

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General David Petraeus, retired United States Army general and former CIA director[/caption]

Retired four-star US general Petraeus, who commanded Allied Forces in Iraq, said Ukraine’s allies in the West must do more to help win the war against Putin.

Experts have repeatedly warned that the Russian tyrant has set his sights on more targets in a deranged dream to regain a lost empire.

And this week, sabre-rattling Putin warned he will send his allies long-range missiles in response to the West sending Ukraine weapons.

Speaking to The Sun, Petraeus said Putin has been “very clear” about bringing a new war to Europe.

The world “should listen” to Putin as he “tells us what he believes”, the former CIA boss warned.

Petraeus said: “The Ukraine war could expand in the region if Putin succeeds in Ukraine.

“He wouldn’t be satisfied to stop with Ukraine. Moldova clearly would be next.

“After that it might be Lithuania or one of the other Baltic states.

“He’s been very clear and I think it’s also clear in hindsight that we should listen to this individual. He tells us what he believes.”

In order to defeat Vlad, the West must do “everything humanly possible” to help Ukraine, Petraeus urged.

And Ukraine must also push to make “greater strides in technology” in the battle against Russia‘s vast army, he added.

“Ukraine has to do more to enable itself and is finally doing that… it needs to crank it into a higher gear to generate more replacement soldiers and also additional units,” Petraeus said.

“Keep in mind that what they did in the Black Sea wasn’t by their ships or their sailor – but their drones.

“Its maritime drones, its aerial drones and its anti-ship missiles have enabled them to sink one third of the Black Sea fleet ships.

“Russia has had some of its own. The glide bombs that they are now using are particularly pernicious and ineffective unfortunately.”

Putin’s once feared Black Sea Fleet has been left humiliated during the conflict as Ukrainian forces have been blitzing his vessels with a “creative” combination of powerful missiles with kamikaze sea drones.

It has blunted Russia’s ability to strike targets in Ukraine and also left key ports, including Sevastopol, open to hits like the one Kyiv’s forces executed there in September on Vlad’s warship HQ.

But the key to winning the 27-month war, according to Petraeus, is for Ukraine to rapidly expand its manpower and military might – with the help of its Western allies.

He said: “Russia is generating considerable additional forces, has a population far more than three times that of Ukraine, has ten times the economy and some other advantages.

“The reality is a difficult one and yet another reason why we should be doing all that we can to help Ukraine in every possible way.”

Petraeus’ comments comes after Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics delivered a sobering assessment on the unsteady future of European security in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia.

He said all outcomes of Russia’s war against Ukraine will likely lead to more bloodshed as the Kremlin is guided by “resentment for its lost empire”.

“If Russia feels it has won in Ukraine the temptation will be for it to continue… if it feels it was defeated, the desire will be for revenge,” Rinkevics said.

And the “first targets” of Putin’s mission to rebuild the Soviet empire will be to conquer Moldova and the Caucasus and central Asia regions, he said.

This sweeping Hitler-style land grab could include countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan – all of which are sustained targets of Russian influence.

The security order of Europe will be threatened for “years if not decades to come,” Rinkevics warned during a three-day UK visit.

Putin blasted the West’s decision to allow his enemies to use lethal weapons against his troops on the frontlines.

Moscow labelled the move a grave miscalculation as Putin argued any threat against his troops would be quickly mirrored.

And the Russian president vowed to send his own set of weapons to his own allies.

The latest escalation of war could see tempers reach boiling point – with Russia aiming weapons directly at the West.

As Moscow ramps up its escalating threats towards its neighbouring Nato countries, they are responding with a military buildup.

Latvia, alongside Lithuania and Estonia, has a grand plan to build a network of hundreds of bunkers to shore up Nato’s eastern flank.

The trio are also part of a newly signed plan to create a “drone wall” stretching from Norway to Poland to shield Europe from the threat of Russia.

Thousands of surveillance and possibly armed drones are set to patrol the tense frontier.

Elaborating on the plan to The Times, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said Europe has returned to the “darkest days of the Cold War”.

He revealed that the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will monitor attempts by Russia and Belarus to use large numbers of migrants as a “weapon” and other provocations.

Although he said the drones will mostly be used for reconnaissance, he did not rule out that armed drones may also be deployed.