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A RUTHLESS Vladimir Putin is looking to expand Russia’s sea borders in a chilling mission to seize an island that can be used as a nuclear launch pad.
The Kremlin’s latest brazen power move is set to push Nato allies to their limits as Russia looks to taunt the West with ex-Generals warning The Sun it could “trigger WW3“.
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AFP
Reuters
Getty - ContributorEurope is on edge after Putin’s defence ministry announced a shock bid to change Russian maritime borders with Finland and Lithuania on Wednesday.
Russia is said to be trying to redraw their territorial waters to steal the areas in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland as well as near the cities of Baltiysk and Zelenodradsk in the Kaliningrad region.
But, experts are most concerned over Putin’s plans to take over Gotland, an island that sits just off the coast of Sweden .
It is thought to be the next area on Putin’s hitlist if he gets his way and is regarded as one of the most important areas in the Baltic Sea.
Whoever runs Gotland dominates the Baltics
General Richard ShirreffGeneral Richard Shirreff spoke to The Sun on the importance of Nato keeping control of Gotland and keeping it far away from the hands of a tyrant.
He said: “It’s classic Putin. Since Finland and Sweden have joined Nato, it’s basically a NATO lake.
“This is an attempt to push back against NATO. There are no surprises there.
“Whoever runs Gotland dominates the Baltics so the Swedes are rightly concerned about it.”
Former US General Ben Hodges had a chilling prediction on what a Russian attack on the island could mean for Europe and the world.
He told The Sun: “Since Sweden is a Member of NATO, any Russian attack on Gotland would most likely be agreed by the Members of the Alliance as an armed attack on Sweden and therefore likely an Article 5 scenario.”
As Sweden recently became apart of the Nato alliance, any attack would trigger clause five leading the nations to support the Swedes and hit back at the aggressor.
Potentially sparking a continental war involving Britain.
But if the US – another Nato nation – also sticks to article five then Shirreff says it could easily “trigger WW3”.
He could have a nuclear armed Iskander on Gotland where he could threaten states with a nuclear weapon
General Richard ShirreffThe former US Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work once said “the US would take it very, very seriously if there were a threat against Gotland”.
One of Hodges greatest worries was how Russia would use the island.
He said: “If Russia seized it and put various anti-ship and air defence systems on it, they could completely change the dynamics and control of most of the Baltic Sea.”
Essentially using it as a launch pad for destruction.
Nato allies constantly monitor the Baltics through their naval forces and also use it as a training centre to prepare for any future conflicts.
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But, if a power hungry Putin seized the sacred island then the experts fear it would make it “really difficult to reinforce many Baltic states”.
With many fearing he would heap his military arsenal onto Gotland to interfere with Nato ships using anti-ship missiles and long-range battleship missiles.
This comes as Putin’s latest nuclear warnings saw the tyrant launch more tactical nuke drills near Ukraine.
Dramatic pictures show Iskander and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles being moved across the region before they were fired through the sky.
Shirreff said if Russia launched their terrifying Iskander nukes from Gotland then they would be in range of major Western European cities.
“He could have a nuclear armed Iskander on Gotland where he could threaten states with a nuclear weapon,” the ex-General told The Sun.
Berlin, Warsaw, Stockholm and Copenhagen could all be blasted with Putin’s nukes if he fired them from the island.
The military experts also both stated Gotland could also play a huge factor in further signal jamming activities that have already plagued much of Eastern Europe and the UK in recent months.
Russia would see further advancements with an increased naval presence in the Baltics, underwater sabotage capabilities, and naval mining capabilities, it is feared.
Why is Gotland so important?
With a population of just 58,000 Gotland is a relatively quiet island but its potential importance in warfare is seen as immeasurable.
It is currently owned by Sweden and is seen as a Nato stronghold as any attack on the land would prompt a huge response from the alliance.
Military exercises as well as naval preparations are common on and around the island as it is perfectly set up for land, sea and air operations.
But fears are growing that Putin’s Russia are planning to seize the island to use it to take hold of the Baltic Sea.
Former US General Ben Hodges told The Sun: “Gotland Island dominates the Baltic Sea.
“If Russia seized it and put various anti-ship and air defence systems on it, they could completely change the dynamics and control of most of the Baltic Sea.”
Sweden has already remilitarised the island since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a reported £130million being spent on strengthening the military infrastructure in case of an attack.
It sits in a prime location between Nato and Russia so offers huge advantages in the deployment and control of air and sea traffic in the Baltic Sea to whoever has it.
Once dubbed a “giant aircraft carrier” Gotland sits only 120 miles off the coast of Nato’s fearless Baltic triangle of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
But just 230 miles north sits the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad which has been fortified by Putin in recent months with a litany of weapons.
Russian military analyst Vasily Dandykin said: “The size of this island makes it possible to put aviation, airfields, and naval bases on.
“But the dream of both NATO and the Americans is to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO sea… We understand what kind of threat this is.”
What else does Putin want?
Russia also intends to take the land of Sommers, Jahi, Rodsher, Malyi Tyuters, Vigrund, and Gogland in the brazen mission.
With Putin also intending to unilaterally redesign global sea maps near the Curonian Spit – between Lithuania and Russia – and the Vistula Spit – between Poland and Russia.
The Taran Cape is thought to be the final area Russia is looking to take without consequences.
The dozen of ruthless grabs could quickly lead to a disastrous escalation of conflict with Nato over the disputed rulers of the territorial waters.
Russia could be set to steal the regions to deploy navy forces to train them up despite Nato countries already having forces out on the waters.
The Russian defence ministry has made sensational claims calling the current maritime map used by everyone as outdated and incorrect.
They have said it is based on geographic coordinates made in 1985 which now “do not fully correspond to the current geographic situation” due to the break up of the Soviet Union.
Moscow are now said to be calling the maritime borders “invalid” despite the decades-old agreement by the Soviet Cabinet who regulated the borders in the Baltic Sea region.
The Moscow remarks were published as part of a report this morning that has since been deleted as panic set in across Europe.
Expert analysis on the 'sea grab'
By The Sun’s Defence Editor Jerome Starkey
Russia has been accused of a land grab or rather a sea grab after its Ministry of Defence published a proposal to unilaterally redraw its maritime borders with Lithuania and Finland in the Gulf of Finland and around its Kaliningrad enclave.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that the charts and maps which designate where Russian territory and its neighbours territories start and end were inaccurate and that Moscow has decided to redraw them now.
This has prompted suggestions from Lithuania of a blatant escalation from others in the Baltic as an absurd notion.
The Finns insisting that they will react calmly and in a measured fashion once all the facts are in.
The publication of the Russian document caused panic and alarm across the region early this morning because it appeared to be a unilateral attempt by Russia to effectively grab territory from its neighbours.
Given the current context of a conflict in Ukraine, where Russia is similarly unilaterally grabbing territory by force, the prospect of Russia trying to actually grab territory through a sort of bureaucratic mechanism by decree saying that this territory in the sea is now ours caused huge alarm.
This would be taking territory from NATO countries and to do so could have been construed potentially as an Article five breach with a collective defence response from the 32 members of NATO.
Now what has happened over the course of today is that that document has been deleted without explanation by the Russian government.
Whether or not this was a mistake or whether this was a sort of deliberately deniable grey zone attempt for Russia to muddy the waters or spread concern, alarm or confusion, it’s not clear.
But it certainly has spread concern, confusion and alarm.
The document has since been deleted with no official explanation coming from Moscow just yet.
Despite speculation over how legitimate the land grabs may be Russia has a history with making up their own version of history.
In a similar vain to how Putin invaded Crimea and Ukraine as he saw them as Russian states rather than independent ones, Russia is now set to extend their waters at any costs necessary.
Hodges said: “This is classic Russian use of threats, creating new facts on the ground or at sea, daring the rest of us to stand up to them.
“If we don’t then they’ll simply enforce the new boundary as if it is legal and legitimate.”
Earlier this year, Putin was said to be on the verge of attempting another land grab in a breakaway region of Moldova.
The Russian-controlled enclave of Transnistria, that’s sharing a border with Ukraine begged Moscow for help against “pressure” from Chișinău.
Nato warships constantly patrol the Baltic Sea doing drills as Russia looks to encroach on their waters
English (US)