Western officials fear Putin is preparing to escalate beyond Ukraine. Bild and The Telegraph outline possible Russian moves against NATO.
Western officials and outlets including The New York Times, Bloomberg, Bild and The Telegraph are circulating warnings that Vladimir Putin may be planning escalation beyond Ukraine, possibly against NATO members, with a stated Kremlin goal for 2026 described as the collapse of NATO and the EU from within. CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced Moscow visit, Polish PM Donald Tusk says he sees signs of preparation, and Zelensky's office suspects a new offensive toward Kyiv and Chernihiv may be forming.
The reporting catalogs scenarios ranging from seabed sabotage of cables and pipelines to a Crimea-style 'little green men' operation in Narva or Daugavpils, to a full invasion sealing the Suwałki corridor and seizing Gotland, to a staged helicopter 'emergency landing' near Kaliningrad. Experts quoted, including Mark Galeotti, treat some of these as well-rehearsed and others as far-fetched, while acknowledging Russia has consistently denied involvement in past comparable operations.
The piece also notes Russia may be stockpiling captured Ukrainian drones for a false-flag provocation designed to look like a Ukrainian strike on Russian territory.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.