Russian state TV has issued a chilling nuclear threat to the west if NATO puts peacekeepers into Ukraine, saying World War Three might be around the corner.
Moscow's tightly-controlled state TV went into propaganda overdrive, warning alliance leaders meeting in Brussels today against deploying any troops into Ukraine, even if they were there to maintain peace.
These chilling threats come four weeks into Russia's invasion, as Putin's forces continue to bombard countless Ukrainian cities with air raids, but Kyiv's resistance holds fast.
Moscow continues to cover up the extent of its losses in the war, having not updated its official death toll in weeks.
The ratcheting up of rhetoric saw blunt, undisguised warnings from the Kremlin's mouthpieces on state TV, worrying that Poland would seek a NATO mandate for peacekeepers.
They also went on to claim Poland would seek a land grab, to snatch back Ukrainian territory that was once part of Poland, such as the city of Lviv.
TV presenter Vyacheslav Nikonov claimed that Russian truck drivers stuck on the border had spotted “an accumulation of American and Polish troops.
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“As for me Poland strives not just to fulfil a peacekeeping mission, but to stake out the territories which they consider belonging to them historically.”
Olga Skabeyeva, host of state-owned Rossiya 1's show 60 Minutes said: “If NATO members send peacekeepers to Ukraine…
“They should understand that this will represent a direct clash between the armed forces of Russia and NATO.
“And how this collision will end is probably not worth explaining … this is called World War Three.”
Despite threats of ratcheting up the warfare, Russia's invasion continues to stall and stutter in the face of logistical and morale issues and huge Ukrainian resistance.
Early reports suggested that the Kremlin intended to take Ukraine in a 'lightning invasion' lasting days.
But now, a month into the invasion, Putin's men find themselves negotiating with the government they failed to oust.
Russia's threats were echoed on other Kremlin-controlled shows. On Channel 1, Colonel Yury Knutov, repeated the same claims.
He said: “If there are any sane people left in NATO, they will not approve [a peacekeeping] operation [in Ukraine].
“Why? Because [a collective] NATO decision will mean a de facto declaration of war on Russia ... this would be a Casus belli, meaning war between Russia and NATO.
“To win this war, whether we like it or not, we will have to use tactical nuclear weapons in the theatre of operations.
“This will then entail the use of powerful strategic nuclear weapons … which means universal nuclear war.”
Russia's state TV mouthpiece also warned the same outcome would come about if Poland acted independently, and not under the NATO umbrella.
Throughout its unsuccessful invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly made threats towards the west about intervention.
On top of the invasion not going as planned, reports from The Financial Times and Washington Post suggest that Russia had been begging China for military equipment and financial support to help it get around sanctions, since it all began on February 24.
China, along with India, is one of the few powers yet to denounce Putin's bloody invasion into Ukraine.
The butcher of Chechnya, veteran Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, told Channel 1 that Putin should secure Ukraine' s western border with Poland.
The MP and recipient of Russia's highest honour, the Hero of Russia, said: “The time has come for our leadership to say very clearly - these are the borders.
“And don’t you Poles dare poking in here, even 10 metres. You’ll be hit immediately with the whole might of our Kalibr [cruise missiles].
“And with all the might of artillery and aviation. This is not a nuclear weapon, but an ordinary one. And then the praised Polish army will run - knees up high - right back to Warsaw.”
The Poles would be defeated “in full” if it sought to interfere with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, he said.
However, as Russian state TV makes bold threats, there are reports that cracks are appearing between Putin and his top generals.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has not been seen for 13 days amid claims he has 'heart problems' just as reports suggest Putin held him responsible for the invasion's failure so far.
Alongside this, Anatoly Chubais, the man who gave Putin his first job in the Kremlin, resigned and fled Russia in dramatic fashion, reportedly with the intention of never returning, over his opposition to the war.
Poland yesterday expelled 45 Russian "spies" posing as diplomats but NTV channel owned by Gazprom-Media said this was part of concerted action against Moscow, which it wanted out of the G-20.
"Warsaw is sending out Russian diplomats, and is calling for Russia’s replacement in G20, as well as to bring peace keepers into Ukraine," said the channel.
"At the same time it increases its army twofold, strengthening its border grouping. Perhaps Poland wants to get back territories it lost some time ago?"
This was also suggested by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the event of an “existential threat”.
But he warned deploying Western peacekeepers to Ukraine would be “very rash and extremely dangerous”.
He said: "A special military operation is underway, and any possible contact between our military personnel and NATO military personnel could lead to quite understandable consequences that would be difficult to put right."
Russian TV also told its viewers that “satanist” Western mercenaries were fighting against Putin’s forces in Ukraine.
These are "former US special forces who worship the devil in the truest sense of the word", said a presenter.
Russian TV channels continue to claim the invasion of Ukraine as a military operation against Nazis, which are seen everywhere.
One broadcast by war correspondent Semyon Pegov claimed that the “flow of refugees from the Mariupol neighbourhoods that we are liberating is endless”.
Ukrainians "are finally realising that they can escape from this hell in which they were kept by the neo-Nazis for the past several weeks”.
Western weapons supplied to Kyiv get into the hands of "terrorists, Nazis and criminals”, viewers are told.
In the latest intelligence update, the UK's Ministry of Defence said that Russia had "almost certainly" suffered thousands of casualties so far in the war.
Some estimates even make this as many as they suffered in over a decade of fighting in Afghanistan.
The intelligence chiefs added that the Kremlin would be turning to its reservist and conscripts to bolster its manpower, as well as employing private military.
