THE year is 2027. Vladimir Putin’s missiles tear through homes in the Baltics, with civilians being massacred in the streets and women raped by Russian soldiers in ruined buildings.
British troops are obligated to join their Nato allies in combat against the advancing army of the dictator, resulting in cities turning into rubble similar to the devastated Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol.
Simultaneously, Russian rockets will target Nato’s eastern flank, destroying airports and seaports essential for frontline support, further isolating the Baltics.
The war-hungry tyrant will have already emerged victorious from Ukraine after signing a Trump-brokered deal with Zelensky on the menu.
Next was installing his puppets in Moldova, Georgia and Romania through rigged elections.
But Putin doesn’t stop there.
Preying on the chaos already created by Trump turning his back on propping up European defence as well as devastating cyber attacks, Putin sets his sights on the Baltics.
Thousands of soldiers will die every day and civilians will become targets for Russian troops as they have been in Putin’s devastating war in Ukraine.
Former Nato commanders told The Sun this is the reality the UK and West could face if Europe doesn’t act now by not only sending more weapons to Ukraine but also bolstering Nato defences across the Baltics.
They said Nato must mobilise and prepare for war so Putin has no doubt that if his men step foot in the Baltics, he will get a “bloody nose and be stopped”.
That will mean Europe and their Canadian allies must stand on their own two feet – without relying on the $4bn US military that has been underpinning Nato’s security for 76 years.
Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as Nato’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told The Sun he was “scared” for our future if we don’t step up to the mark now and create an effective deterrence.
The former British military chief scathingly accused Trump of delivering a “mortal blow” to Nato and in the process handing Putin a key foreign policy objective.
“What Trump has done is cast doubt – absolute doubt – on America’s willingness to underpin collective defence under the alliance, which is the foundation of Nato,” Sir Shirreff said.
The former commander, who led British troops in the first Gulf War and Iraq, warned that if Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine through a Trump-brokered deal it will effectively see the “capitulation” of the nation.
“That gives Putin the opportunity to declare victory and to rearm, regenerate and rebuild his armed forces,” Sir Shirreff said.
“And then when he’s done that, he will finish off Ukraine.
“Because he’s never going to give up on his aim of taking over the whole of Ukraine either.”
Next, Sir Shirreff warns, Putin will move into Moldova, Georgia and Romania by interfering in their elections and putting one of his puppets in power.
Then he’ll set his sights on the Baltics.
The former military chief warns: “I think it’s highly likely that when he looks at Nato, he’ll think it’s a busted flush because of what Trump has done, and then he’ll think – I’ll have a go on the Baltics.
“And then we’re at war with Russia because we’ve got 1,000 soldiers in Estonia, and so do the French, Germans, Canadians in the Baltics.”
Sir Shirreff paints a terrifying picture of what a Russian attack against the Baltics would look like.
He said: “Well when Russia attacks, an attack looks like what we’ve seen in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
“It looks like the deportation of children, rape of women and the massacre of civilians.
“That’s what happens when Russia attacks. First will be the missiles, then the works.”
Mariupol in Ukraine’s east has been reduced to rubble after ruthless Russian forces attacked the city with tanks, mortars, missiles and aircraft.
More than 450,000 civilians were left stranded in Mariupol by March 2022, with the brutal fighting killing thousands of men, women and children and destroying critical infrastructure.
After months of fighting bravely, Ukrainian forces defending the Azovstal steel plant began surrendering and Mariupol was left to the Russians – and remains under their tyranny.
The city, once a vibrant hub, has suffered some of the worst destruction in the war, with the destroyed buildings now lining the streets.
And now Sir Shirreff has warned the Baltic states would become another Mariupol if Putin is allowed to unleash hell on Europe.
Ben Hodges, the former commander of the US Army Europe, has warned that Putin could launch missile strikes against Nato countries to take out transport infrastructure.
That’s because Putin knows that the military alliance depends on rapid reinforcement to defend the territory against an attack.
He told the Sun: “And that means airports and seaports along Nato’s eastern flank from Finland all the way down through Poland and Romania, which are critical for rapid reinforcement, would be targeted with either kinetic strikes or cyber attacks.”
Sir Shirreff, who agrees with Hodges’ assessment, said the only way Putin can be stopped is if Europe bolsters its defences and creates an effective deterrence.
He explained: “The way to avoid and prevent this from happening is through mobilising and preparing for the worst case scenario and making it 100 per cent clear to Putin that if he tries anything on in the Baltic states, he will get a bloody nose.
“But you can’t do that until you’ve done the build-up.”
He said without the US military being a sure part of Nato it will “immediately be really difficult” because America has provided the bulk of the funding.
And America’s capabilities – including long-range missiles, air defence, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance systems as well as their mass in tanks and troops – would be sorely missed.
“But taken together, Europe is collectively 10 times bigger than Russia’s economy,” Sir Shirreff said.
“Europe can do it. But it’ll take time, it’ll take effort, it’ll take leadership and it’ll take sacrifice.”
He said Europe must firstly give Ukraine the capabilities it needs to maintain its defence against the meatgrinder Russian forces.
And now is more important than ever to do so after Trump suspended US weapons and military support to Ukraine after his public spat with Zelensky.
Second, Europe must fill the gap that could be left behind if Trump pulls out of Nato and create a united strategy in streamlining the defence industries, Sir Sherriff said.
That means mobilising troops, potentially conscripting soldiers to build up our armed forces – like we did at the start of the Second World War to face the Nazis.
He warned: “For all of our security and safety, it’s got to work.
“And if Europe is fractured, and if Europe doesn’t step up to the mark, then I really fear for our future.”
Putin’s sights on three Nato countries
ESTONIA, Lithuania and Latvia have all condemned Putin’s grinding war in Ukraine.
These major Russian-speaking cities in each country are of historical importance when thinking about the Russian empire Putin follows on from.
Geographically they also all provide important elements, like coastal locations, sea ports, industrial centres or key borders.
NARVAÂ –Â ESTONIA
Narva – which sits on the border between Russia and Estonia – was first occupied by Russia between 1558 and 1581, and then again in 1704.
97 per cent of the almost 60,000 residents there speak Russian.
It borders a river between the two countries – not far from Narva Bay.
On the edge of Nato’s eastern flank by the Baltic Sea, Narva is Estonia’s third biggest city.
There is a red line painted on the point where Narva crosses into Russia – on a bridge over the river.
Estonian border police told the BBC that thousands of Ukrainians have escaped war zones and fled into Estonia through this border crossing.
Narva has welcomed Ukrainian refugees during Putin’s war, the BBC reports.
KLAIPEDAÂ –Â LITHUANIA
Lithunia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine.
It closed its Russian consulate in Klaipeda, which is bordered by Latvia, Belarus and Poland on the Baltic Sea coast.
The third largest city in Lithuania, Klaipeda is a major seaport.
It has the highest number of native Russian speakers among Lithuanian cities.
Under the USSR, Russia turned Klaipeda into a valuable marine base.
DAUGAVPILSÂ –Â LATVIA
This Latvian city, in the south, is bordered closely by Belarus and Lithuania.
It is the second largest city in the country and well populated.
It is also only 75 miles from the Latvian border with Russia.
Daugavpils is historically a major railway and industrial point – and was part of the Russian Empire in the late 1700s.
It has an overwhelmingly Russian speaking population.
Latvia has strongly condemned Putin’s war in Ukraine, and has been added to a list of all EU countries dubbed “unfriendly” by Putin.
