A MAJOR power cut in Lithuania is how a catastrophic World War Three could start that will leave the West reeling, a former Nato commander warned.
General Sir Richard Shirreff predicted the minute-by-minute breakdown of the events that could “radically alter” the balance of global power in just hours.
GettyN Soldiers of the 3rd Podkarpacka Territorial Defense Brigade train at the Nowa Deba training ground as part of Iron Defender-25[/caption]
Associated PressBelarusian army vehicles take part in war games exercises near the border of Lithuania[/caption]
APSoldiers of Ukraine’s 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions at the frontline in Donetsk region[/caption]
The former Army officer, who served as Nato’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, predicted that World War Three would start with a sabotage attack in the Baltic countries.
Writing for The Daily Mail, Sir Richard outlined that it would all start with a massive power outage across Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, which would plunge the city into chaos.
He wrote: “The city’s essential services will shut down. As hospitals switch to emergency generators and banks suspend trading, chaos spreads.
“A wave of looting and civil unrest breaks out, wholly unexpected in law-abiding Lithuania.”
Power cuts would also be reported across Latvia and Estonia, the former army commander predicted.
And within hours, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda would announce that martial law had been imposed in the capital in the wake of rioting and violence.
The very next day, in the wake of the growing chaos, Vladimir Putin would announce that troops in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad are being placed on full alert and moved to the border with Lithuania.
Disguised as a threat to intervene in the Baltic country, the Kremlin would look to attack.
According to Sir Richard, Putin would say that “Russian-speaking residents in Vilnius are being targeted by nationalist mobs and that Moscow will not abandon them”.
And within two hours, he will claim that Russian forces in Kaliningrad have come under fire from “warmongering Lithuanian rebels” – forcing him to take control of the Suwalki Gap.
It is a hard-to-defend strip of land less than 60 miles wide that links the rest of the Nato countries to the Baltic nations.
Sir Richard wrote: “A squadron of SU-27 fighter jets screams low over the border, followed by two MiG-31s armed with Kinzhal missiles. These aircraft are part of the 132nd Composite.
The “Aviation Division of Russia’s Baltic fleet, maintained by the 689th Guards Fighter Regiment, operating out of Chkalovsk airbase. The message is unmistakable: Russia is claiming dominance in the air.”
As a result, a rattled Nato would be forced to invoke its collective defence clause under Article 5.
What is the Suwalki Gap?
THE 60-mile strip Suwalki Gap is wedged between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
It has massive strategic importance for NATO and the EU – as well as Russia – if conflict were to erupt.
For the West, it is the only land link to the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – which are seen as vulnerable to Putin if the current east-west tension worsens.
For Russia, control of the corridor would give a land link to Kaliningrad, the main base of Putin’s Baltic Fleet.
The Suwalki Gap, spanning the Polish-Lithuanian border, has seen an influx of troops as NATO nations strengthen their borders for fear of provocation from Russian-linked Belarus.
Sir Richard said: “At his private home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where it is 8am, President Trump has apparently not yet been woken by his aides.
“Nato chief Mark Rutte has spoken briefly to US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, whose response was: ‘Article 5? Sure, in theory, but what does that mean in reality?
“You’re seriously asking POTUS [the President of the United States] to declare war on Russia because of some low-flying planes? Get real!”
The military expert predicts that Poland would warn Russia to stay out of its airspace, but it will fall short of launching any direct retaliation.
APLithuanian Army soldiers take part military exercise near the Polish border[/caption]
GettyRescuers work at the site of a residential building hit by a Russian missile on August 28[/caption]
GettyRussian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with nuclear industry representatives in Russia[/caption]
And soon, the Lithuanian army posted at the border will come under fire from the Russian army, before Russian tanks start to roll into Vilnius.
And since Russia now controls the Suwalki corridor, Nato will fail to send support logistics to the Baltic countries to help defend against Russia.
With Europe engaged with yet another Putin invasion, Sir Richard predicted that China in the East will launch an attack on Taiwan.
He said: “Chinese missile batteries open up a barrage unprecedented in the history of warfare on Taiwan, the densely populated island 100 miles off the mainland coast.
“Thousands of rockets scream out of the night sky, targeting Taiwan’s air force and its naval ports, its missile launchpads and its military command centres, radar stations and electronic anti-drone installations.”
The military expert said that even though Trump will threaten to slap China with “the motherload of all sanctions”, he will fall short of supporting the island with necessary military aid.
Sir Richard continued: “In just five days, the balance of global power has altered radically.
“China has seized the prize it long desired. Russia has guaranteed the eventual conquest of Ukraine and begun to reclaim the Baltic states. Nato has disintegrated.
“Europe is preparing a new alliance with the Far East. And Britain is exposed as a tiny island no better able to defend itself than Taiwan.”
GettyTensions between China and neighbouring Taiwan have soared in recent years as the threat of war looms[/caption]
ReutersChina’s aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in a military drill[/caption]
Telltale signs
While Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on with no end in sight, The Sun investigated the hidden signs the Russian despot is planning to invade the Suwalki Gap.
Seizing the gap would essentially cut off the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from their Nato allies.
Speaking on Battled Plans Exposed of Putin’s telltale signs, Colonel Philip Ingram says: “We’re seeing increased Russian military presence in Kaliningrad and Belarus, we’re seeing snap military drills and unusual troop movements.
“We’ve got hybrid warfare with GPS jamming, sabotage of undersea cables, and little green men… fermenting unrest amongst the Russian speaking minorities.”
The military analyst also explains that any potential threats to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, need to be compared to the moments leading up to the invasion of Ukraine.
And he takes a look at hybrid warfare, detailing the range of threatening strategies Moscow has employed in recent history.
Anything resembling the massive military buildup on the border of Ukraine just before the war in 2022 would need to be interpreted as a serious warning sign, he explains.
How country on Putin’s doorstep is preparing for invasion
EXCLUSIVE by Nicole Cherruault and Georgie English
ON Vladimir Putin’s doorstep, a tiny Nato nation of two million people are drawing up war plans for a possible invasion.
Lithuania has recruited a secret army and drawn up plans for a forest barricade and miles of anti-tank dragon teeth to help keep Russia’s bloodthirsty tyrant at arm’s length.
Whilst the Baltic state doesn’t have a direct border with mainland Russia, it shares almost 700km with their allies in Belarus.
It is also nestled up to Russia’s militarised outpost Kaliningrad – leaving them vulnerable to Russian interference and future attacks.
Insiders have been warning for years that there are “very clear” examples of Putin “waging operations” in Lithuania already.
In the face of evil, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former Foreign Minister, said his country is continuing to push back against enemy forces.
Read the full story here.