As the threat of World War Three continues to hang above us like a dark cloud, a Russian minister has warned exactly what it will take for Vladimir Putin to launch another attack.
The world has been on edge ever since Russia invaded Ukraine back in 2022 and despite the best efforts of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, the chances of both countries agreeing to a peace deal currently seems slim.
Despite claims from the Kremlin that suggest otherwise, many in Europe believe that Putin has been testing NATO's resolve in recent months, as he potentially prepares to launch another attack.
Poland has been forced to respond on a number of occasions, shooting down Russian drones and scrambling warplanes after brutal bombings in Kyiv, while fellow NATO country Estonia also had their airspace violated by Russian airplanes.
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It is clear just how devastating a third world war would be, especially with the threat of nuclear weapons being involved, and now NATO secretary genera Mark Rutte has urged countries to prepare 'for the scale of conflict our grandparents and great grandparents endured'.
UK ministers are also loudly sounding the alarm.
Armed Forces minister Al Carns said: "The shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door and that war could be bigger and bloodier than what we have experienced in recent times.
"If you look at the UK casualties taken in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, that amounts to about a week in the war in Ukraine. If you are asking is Britain is on a war footing then you are on the money.
"We should remember that collectively the UK and its allies overmatch Russia significantly. While Ukraine has inflicted more than a million casualties on the largest armed forces in the world."
However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has once again reaffirmed that Russia has 'no intention of going to war with Europe', but did confirm that crossing 'two red lines' could force Putin into military action.
He said: "As the President [Putin] emphasised, we have no intention of going to war with Europe. We have no such intention. But we will respond to any hostile steps, including the deployment of European military contingents in Ukraine and the expropriation of Russian assets."
Expropriation would see NATO taking property or assets from Russia, with over €210 billion (£180bn) of Russian assets having already been frozen by Europe.
The EU has previously proposed to see €140bn (£123bn) of the frozen assets turned into a reparations loan to support Ukraine financially next year, but there are fears this could rest in legal action and imperil peace talks.
The UK has already imposed the most severe sanctions Russia has ever faced, with over £25 billion of Russian assets reported frozen - and UK prime minister Keir Starmer supports using these frozen assets to fund Ukraine.
Sanctions imposed by the UK and its allies have significantly impacted Russia’s economy, depriving it of over $400 billion since February 2022, according to the UK government.
Meanwhile in the wake of Russia's comments, Starmer stressed the UK's commitment to protecting national security.
The official spokesperson for the Prime Minister said: "We've been clear for many months that Russia's war in Ukraine affects our national security.
"You've seen our uptick in defence spending. The national security of this country is the number one priority of this Government and any government."
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, NATO, Europe
James Moorhouse