VLADIMIR Putin’s brazen sabre-rattling against Nato allies in recent weeks has left the world trying to decipher the Russian tyrant’s game plan.
In the latest episode of Battle Plans Exposed, former intelligence officer Philip Ingram lays bare the real reason behind the dictators daring airspace incursions.
In the latest episode of Battle Plans Exposed, Philip Ingram reveals Vladimir Putin’s motive for recent drone and jet incursions
APA NORAD Command F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft (foreground) escorts a Russian Su-35 fighter (C), and Tu-95 Bear bomber[/caption]
Russian Ministry of DefenseFootage showed a drone flying close to the Copenhagen airport[/caption]
Following a wave of aerial invasions by Moscow threatening European security, the continent is now on a war footing to fight Putin’s aggression.
Ingram says the Kremlin‘s real motive behind the recent spate of territorial violations is to stir panic and sap resources as part of a “dangerous game of chicken“.
The expert says: “It’s a classic decoy, he’s deliberately trying to sap Western time, money and resources away from the real war in Ukraine.”
He adds: “While politicians are tied up in urgent crisis meetings, figuring out how to respond… Russia is free to grow stronger.”
Vlad’s latest provocations have been examples of Russia “baiting Nato in the air”, Ingram claims.
Watch the latest episode of Battle Plans Exposed here…
He says: “We’ve seen a massive surge in Russian airplanes violating Nato airspace, pushing and testing the alliance to the limit, both politically and militarily.
“Russian MiG-31 fighters stormed into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes in a brazen stunt that put all of Europe on edge.”
In the last two weeks, Europe has witnessed fighter jet face-offs, mysterious large drone sightings and coordinated sabotage activities that crippled operations at major airports.
Drones were seen flying over several Danish airports – causing one of them to close for hours.
ReutersPutin’s real reason for breaching Nato airspace has been revealed[/caption]
This followed a similar ordeal in Norway, Russian drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory, and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.
Ingram says the Russian media and Kremlin mouthpieces have been labelling the recent breaches as fake news as part of a rampant disinformation campaign.
“The NATO airspace incursions that I mentioned earlier… they were labelled as fake news by Russian mouthpieces,” he said.
“Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitri Polonsky, had said there was no evidence backing the claims of Moscow’s incursions into Nato members airspace.”
But the recent drone and jet incursions have prompted Europe to plan a massive layer of defence dubbed the “drone wall” to deter future breaches.
The project will be a sophisticated, multi-layered air-defence system that can detect, track and take down rogue drones.
This will save European allies from scrambling fighter jets and wasting million-dollar missiles in first response measures.
A Russian MIG-31 fighter jet flying above the Baltic Sea
Russian Ministry of Defense
The Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of two Tu-95s and two Su-35s flying through the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone over the Bering Sea[/caption]
In the newest episode of Battle Plans Exposed, Ingram describes how Russia has accused Europe of spreading “baseless accusations” as part of a war of deception against Ukraine and its Western allies.
Ingram says the tyrant uses “smoke and mirrors” strategies to mislead his opponents – both on the battlefield and in society.
He reveals how the brutal meatgrinder and drone strikes pale in comparison to disinformation and deception tactics being deployed by Russian forces.
Fake armies, ghost signals and espionage are all examples of Putin’s war of “trickery and deceit”, the expert says.
“All warfare is deception, all deception is warfare,” he claims.
“Russia’s global information war and core part of its military doctrine is designed to shape world opinion and justify its aggression.”
What is Article 4?
ARTICLE 4 of the NATO treaty allows any member state to demand urgent consultations with allies if it feels its security, political independence, or territorial integrity are under threat.
It is essentially a diplomatic alarm bell — a way to rally NATO allies around the table, share intelligence, and agree on a common response before a situation escalates further.
Unlike Article 5 — NATO’s collective defence clause — Article 4 does not automatically trigger military action.
But it can lead to reinforcements, heightened air patrols, or stronger deterrence measures on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Poland and the Baltic states have repeatedly invoked Article 4 since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and again after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, citing threats spilling over their borders.
Turkey has also used Article 4 several times, including during the Syrian conflict.
NATO says Article 4 is an important tool to show unity and resolve, making clear to adversaries that the alliance is on high alert.
Ingram also lays bare the underhanded tactics being utilised in Putin’s war – including inflatable tanks and fighter jets painted onto airfields.
He details “false flag operations” – attacks which are orchestrated by Russia but then blamed on Ukrainians.
And he looks at examples of Ukrainian spies working in Russia disguised as elderly women – as part of the espionage war quietly raging on between the two sides.
Outlining the parameters for the war of deception being fought by Russia and Ukraine, Ingram says: “Both sides are masters of creating ghost armies.
“A soldier’s biggest enemy isn’t always flesh and blood. It’s a fake.”
Ingram adds: “This is a modern tactical deception, fooling the enemy into fighting ghosts, bankrupting them whilst the real weapons get ready to strike.”
Drones flew into Polish airspace last month
Police outside airport in Denmark after mystery drone sighting
Painted jets on runways aiming to deceive attackers
He describes the operational deception being employed in the war.
“Technology is used to blind and confuse the enemy, deceiving sensors and intelligence,” the analyst reveals.
He tells how Russia deploys “electronic warfare systems” which create “fake bubbles of GPS signals, drones and guided missiles”.
Those flying into this bubble can then suddenly lose their way and be set off course.
“It’s an invisible shield, a digital minefield that can stop some of Ukraine’s smartest weapons dead in their tracks,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of Russia’s propaganda campaign, Ingram analyses the Salisbury poisonings which took the life of Dawn Sturgess in 2018 following a botched Russian assassination attempt on UK soil.
Russian disinformation sowed doubt in British politics, creating confusion and fracturing the UK’s stance against Russia,
Ingram then explains the “highest level of strategic deception”.
“This isn’t just about fooling a soldier or a spy – it’s about fooling the entire world,” he says.
Putin targets the international community, aiming “to sow division and doubt”.
EPAUkraine continues to come under Russian attacks[/caption]
“The entire pretext for the invasion was a strategic lie,” Ingram explains.
Ingram examines when the level of strategic deception began – and identifies its roots in World War II.
He takes a look at how the Allies created a fictional army as part of one of the most ambitious deception plans in military history – Operation Fortitude.
Building hundreds of inflatable tanks and dummy landing crafts, the Allies worked to deceive German forces.
Looking back, the military expert says: “The goal was to convince Hitler that the main invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais, the shortest sea crossing, but the real invasion of Normandy was to be presented as a mere diversion.”
He also analyses Operation Mincemeat, telling how it was one of the most audacious missions in the Second World War – which successfully tricked German forces.
And Ingram also cites a more recent example of deception in Kosovo, which cost Western allies huge amounts of money when using anti-radiation missiles.
Ingram says: “From the inflatable tanks of World War II to the digital ghosts of today, the battle plans of deception have evolved, but their purpose remains the same.
“To confuse, to paralyse, and to manipulate your enemy.”
He adds: “The war in Ukraine has shown that modern conflict is a hybrid war, both on the battlefield and in the global information space.”
AFPPolice inspect damage to a home in eastern Poland following the drone breach[/caption]
ReutersUkraine’s capital Kyiv following an aerial strike last month[/caption]