UK Defence Secretary warns Vladimir Putin could declare a new world war within days

Vladimir Putin could declare a new world war within days, Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned.

The warning comes after Russia claimed the invasion of Ukraine is likely to end in a nuclear world war.

Mr Wallace said the Russian President might use traditional Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which commemorate the end of World War II, to call up troops for a “war with the world’s Nazis”, The Sun reports.

He also said Russia’s occupation of Ukraine risked becoming “a sort of cancerous growth” that must be cut out.

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Victory Day prep underway

It comes after the editor of the state-owned broadcaster RT Margarita Simonyan said in a broadcast that it was “more probable” that the Russian President would launch a nuclear strike than allow Russia to lose the war.

And meanwhile, Putin paraded his military might through Moscow and St Petersburg in a rehearsal for the Victory Day.

It is believed he was once hoping to use the parade to declare victory in the war in Ukraine.

Pictures show the might of Russia’s military rolling through the cities – with tanks and nuclear missile launchers.

Eager Russians took selfies with the military vehicles and troops – even while thousands of their soldiers have been killed and hundreds of their tanks and aircraft blown up in Ukraine.
 

The UK’s Mr Wallace told LBC radio’s Nick Ferrari: “I would not be surprised … that he is probably going to declare on May Day that, ‘We are now at war with the world’s Nazis and we need to mass mobilise the Russian people.’”

He added: “Putin, having failed in nearly all objectives, may seek to consolidate what he’s got … and just be a sort of cancerous growth within the country.

“We have to help Ukrainians effectively get the limpet off the rock and keep the momentum pushing them back.”

Mr Wallace also said the UK would continue to supply weapons to the government in Kyiv and was looking at providing anti-ship missiles.

Western countries have been giving aid, weapons and equipment to the country – stopping short of sending troops or imposing a no-fly zone.

Britain has been supplying anti-tank weapons, anti-air missiles and plans to send Stormer armoured vehicles to help them fight against Russia.
 

Earlier this week Moscow threatened to strike military targets in the UK with Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying the strikes could be authorised against NATO member states.

She said: “Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those NATO countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime?”

“After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.”

Moscow yesterday made more threats against the West.

“The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, into Ukraine, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Mr Putin earlier insisted any country intervening in Russia’s “special operation” to rid Ukraine of so-called Nazis faced a “lightning-fast” response.

The Russian leader warned his country would use their weapons against anyone who “intends to interfere in what is going on from the outside,” referring to his six superweapons including the deadly Sarmat missile, dubbed “Satan 2”.

‘Not rattled’ by Russia threats

However, Mr Wallace said he wasn’t “rattled” by the tyrant’s threats adding that NATO forces “outnumber and outgun” Russia.

He told LBC Radio: “I don’t feel rattled by it.

“Because we have strong Armed Forces and a nuclear deterrent and we’re part of a NATO partnership of 30 nations who outgun him, outnumber him and have potentially all the capabilities at our disposal.

“I don’t fear him. I think we should be very grateful in this country that we have a nuclear deterrent, I think that is a really important part of his calculations.

“There are many, as we know, who wanted to get rid of it over the years.

“I’m very grateful that somewhere under the sea, some amazing men and women are deep underwater, hiding, waiting, in case Britain needs to be protected. That’s important.”
 

Previously Russia’s foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the risk of World War III is now “considerable” with NATO weapons being already “legitimate” targets in Ukraine.

In an interview with Russian news agencies, he said: “This is our key position on which we base everything.

“The risks now are considerable.

“I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real, And we must not underestimate it.”

Lavrov accused the West of deliberately attempting to “wear down the Russian army” and exhaust their ability to make war – something Minister Wallace bullishly said was an “illusion”.

But he claimed Russia wanted to prevent a nuclear war at all costs.

Fears over a possible nuclear strike were sparked last week after Russia test-fired its nuclear missile Sarmat 2 with Putin boasting it had the capability of being able to strike anywhere on earth and couldn’t be stopped by existing missile defences.

Meanwhile, the dictator’s top generals are said to have become increasingly frustrated with his handling of the war, reportedly blaming him for a “serious error” after retreating from Kyiv.

The Russian leader is now focused on taking control of the Donbas region in the east.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission