Vladimir Putin could declare world war three over the next few days, according to a warning from the UK defence secretary.
Ben Wallace has warned that the Russian president could use the planned "Victory Day" celebrations to declare a new war on "Nazis" across the globe.
The Kremlin used the excuse of "denazification" as a pretext for launching the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, describing it as a "special operation" against "nazism" in Ukraine, an explanation which has been widely dismissed as baseless propaganda.
Russian forces have since been confirmed to have indiscriminately shelled Ukrainian cities, The Mirror reports.
Reports from the town of Bucha near to Kyev also confirmed the horrifying discovery that Ukrainian civilians had been shot dead at point blank range, with some bodies being found with their hands bound.
Since then Ukrainian cities have been pummelled by shelling in a battle which government minister Liz Truss has said could go on for 10 years.
Russia has also amped up rhetoric about deploying its nuclear arsenal in response to western nations sending humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that the “danger is serious” of a nuclear war.
Ben Wallace has now suggested that Putin may further escalate his rhetoric about the invasion in response to the 'failure' of Russian forces to meet their objectives.
Mr Wallace told LBC: “I would not be surprised . . . that he is probably going to declare on May Day that ‘we are now at war with the world’s Nazis and we need to mass mobilise the Russian people’.”
He continued: “Putin, having failed in nearly all objectives, may seek to consolidate what he's got . . . and just be a sort of cancerous growth within the country. We have to help Ukrainians effectively get the limpet off the rock and keep the momentum pushing them back.”
Russian forces have faced horrific losses and humiliating setbacks since launching the invasion, with Ukraine claiming that 18,900 Russian soldiers have died since the beginning of the war, though Russia disputes the figure.
At least 15 Russian generals have also been killed so far according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, and Russia has lost the missile cruiser Moscva after it suffered severe damage, the heaviest naval loss since the General Belgrano in the Falklands War.
Now, the UK is deploying around 8,000 troops on exercises across Eastern Europe, with dozens of tanks being deployed from North Macedonia to Finland.
Mr Wallace said that UK service personnel with join with NATO allies and those from the Joint Expeditionary Force in a "show of solidarity and strength".
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the exercises were already planned, but had been stepped up as a result of the invasion.
Commander Field Army Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse said: "The UK makes a significant contribution to the defence of Europe and the deterrence of Russian aggression. The British Army's series of exercises is fundamental to both.
"The scale of the deployment, coupled with the professionalism, training and agility of the British Army, will deter aggression at a scale not seen in Europe this century."
Mr Wallace said: "The security of Europe has never been more important. These exercises will see our troops join forces with allies and partners across Nato and the Joint Expeditionary Force in a show of solidarity and strength in one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War."
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