Chilling WW3 warning issued as Putin 'discussing attack on NATO'

The Kremlin is discussing an attack on NATO, a European Commissioner has claimed citing German intelligence. In a wide-ranging interview on how the continent should be ready to defend itself from Russia and take a leaf out of Ukraine's book when it comes to drones, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius issued a stern warning.

He told Polish daily, Wyborcza: "I trust the secret services. And German intelligence claims it has evidence that the Kremlin is discussing an attack on NATO. And if they're discussing it, are they planning an attack? We don't know. But such signals must be taken deadly seriously. They may indeed be ready for war. We must also be ready for it and learn not only from the experiences of the Ukrainians, but also from the Russians."

The Commissioner's warning comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested NATO might be a "paper tiger" as he responded to the same claim about Russia from his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Thursday (October 2).

Putin, quoted by Reuters, said: "A paper tiger. What follows then? Go and deal with this paper tiger. Well if we are fighting with the entire NATO bloc, we are moving, advancing, and we feel confident, and we are a 'paper tiger', then what is NATO itself?"

He accused members of the military alliance of supplying Ukraine with weapons, intelligence and training. Putin accused NATO of whipping up hysteria about a possible attack on an alliance member.

The Russian leader added: "If anyone still has a desire to compete with us in the military sphere, as we say, feel free, let them try. Russia's countermeasures will not be long in coming."

Before Putin's remarks, Mr Trump had mocked Russia's military might in a post on Truth Social. He then backed off, but later revived the dismissive rhetoric at a meeting of US generals and admirals. He said of Russia's war with Ukraine: "You're four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger?"

The rhetorical war between the two leaders came amid a number of intrusions into NATO countries' airspace, which some blame on Russia. European officials have suggested the incidents show Moscow is testing NATO's response. That in turn has raised questions about how well prepared the alliance is against Russia.

A swarm of Russian drones flew into Poland's airspace on September 10, forcing NATO aircraft to scramble to intercept and shoot down some of the devices. It was the first direct encounter between NATO and Russia since Putin launched his all-out war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Days later, NATO jets escorted three Russian warplanes out of Estonia's airspace. Since then, flyovers have been reported near airports, military installations and critical infrastructure elsewhere on the continent.

Russia has been blamed for some of them, but denies anything was done on purpose or that it played a role. European authorities haven't released much detail about the drone intrusions, with some not acknowledging the overflights publicly until days later.