Putin's warning for the West: Vladimir vows 'consequences' for those who interfere in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin today warned his enemies in the West they will face 'consequences' if they 'worsen the situation' in Ukraine, as the Russian strongman threatened to create 'waves of migrants' in Europe.

Putin, speaking in front of dozens of rockets at the Vostochny space launch facility in Russia's Far East, insisted that his faltering invasion of Ukraine would prevail as he warned of world starvation as a result of Western sanctions against Moscow.

The Russian President claimed Russia's economy and financial system withstood the blow from what he called the Western sanctions 'blitz' and insisted the move would backfire by driving up prices for essentials such as fertiliser, leading to food shortages and increased migration to the West.

Despite Putin's faltering invasion, which saw Russian troops retreat from Ukrainian cities and instead focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the leader said his war effort is going to plan as he vowed Russia would triumph in all of its 'noble' war aims.

Putin said that 'common sense should prevail' and added that the West should 'come back to reason and make well-balanced decisions without losing its face.'

He argued that new Western restrictions on high-tech exports will encourage Russia to move faster to develop new technologies, opening a 'new window of opportunities.'

Putin also claimed on Tuesday that the images and footage of dead bodies strewn across the Ukrainian town of Bucha were fake, parroting the same lines his spokesman gave earlier this week. He compared the accusations to those concerning the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 'It's the same kind of fake in Bucha,' Putin said.

Lukashenko wildly accused Britain of staging the atrocities at Bucha by bringing in dead bodies from across Ukraine - not Russian soldiers who wreaked havoc on Ukrainian towns and cities as they retreated.

The Belarusian dictator claimed that a show of Russian cruelty was needed to maintain the West's justification for sanctions against Moscow.

'We've discussed the psychological special operation which was conducted by the English,' said Lukashenko of his talks with Putin. 'If any of you need addresses, details, car plate numbers, brands of cars with which [they] arrived in Bucha and how they did it, the FSB [secret service] of Russia can provide these materials.'

Putin meanwhile claimed Ukraine had deviated from the agreements made at a peace conference in Istanbul, and that talks are in a 'dead end'.

Putin's comments come as a video emerged purporting to show Russian heavy weapons including missile systems being moved towards the border with Finland, hours after the Kremlin warned its northern neighbour against joining NATO.

A ranting Vladimir Putin today warned his enemies in the West they will face 'consequences' if they 'worsen the situation' in Ukraine, as the Russian strongman threated to create 'waves of migrants' in Europe

An unconfirmed video uploaded last night appears to show two Russian coastal defence missile systems moving along a road on the Russian side of the border that leads to Helsinki

The video clearly shows road signs leading to the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Finland, currently neutral, shares a 830 mile long border with Russia

The A-181 leads from Russia's St Petersburg to Finland

A man walks past the Kharkiv Regional Institute of the National Academy of Public Administration building which was destroyed during Russian shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday

Vladimir Putin has taken his 'nuclear football' (pictured left) to a space port as he met with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko

Putin took his 'nuclear football' to the funeral in a Moscow cathedral last week (pictured), raising fears of a potential attack

An unconfirmed video uploaded last night appears to show two Russian coastal defence missile systems moving along a road on the Russian side of the border that leads to Helsinki.

The missile systems, which were seen driving past a sign to the Finnish capital, are thought to be the K-300P Bastion-P mobile coastal defence system, designed to take out surface ships up to and including aircraft carrier battle groups.

The Russian deployment comes as Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she expects her government 'will end the discussion before midsummer' on whether to apply for NATO membership.

Recent opinions polls by a Finnish market research company put 84% of Finns as viewing Russia as a 'significant military threat', up by 25% on last year.

In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov euphemistically warned the move would 'not improve' the security situation in Europe, and Moscow lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov added more bluntly it would mean 'the destruction of the country'.

'We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent,' Peskov said.

Meanwhile in a show of Russian strength today, Vladimir Putin took his 'nuclear football' to a space port alongside Lukashenko.

Yesterday NATO announced two multinational naval groups of sixteen ships led by the Royal Netherlands Navy will be patrolling the Baltic Sea coasts of members such as Poland and Estonia to 'maintain a credible and capable defensive capability'.

Finland, along with neighbouring Sweden, has historically avoided NATO membership, despite close alignment with the West, in an effort not to provoke Russia.

But the Scandinavian country shares a 830 mile long border with Russia and has been unnerved by Putin's invasion of Ukraine, having been invaded once before by the Soviet Union in 1939.

Meanwhile, Sweden's ruling party formally began debating the possibility of launching a bid for membership yesterday, a move which would signal a complete role reversal in policy for the Scandinavian kingdom that has remained militarily neutral for decades.

Party secretary Tobias Baudin told local media that the NATO review should be complete within the next few months.

'When Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden's security position changed fundamentally,' the party said in a statement.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (left) indicated that Finland would decide whether to apply for Nato membership before midsummer, angering the Kremlin which said the move 'would not improve the security situation in Europe'. Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (pictured right with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen), has begun discussing the possibility of joining NATO today

A current map of Nato membership in Europe. Sweden and Finland have historically avoided membership in order to not provoke Russia, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed their calculus

Residents stand outside their apartments as shops burn after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Monday

Ukrainian tanks move down a street in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Monday after Russian troops retreated from the area

Firefighters clear the debris and search for bodies under the rubble of a building hit weeks ago by a Russian attack after receiving reports of a smell emerging from the area, in Kharkiv on Monday

A man walks with a bicycle next to a truck that carries black bags with corpses of people killed during the war with Russia and exhumed from a mass grave for investigations in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv on Monday

In Sweden, the ruling centre-left Social Democrats have historically opposed NATO membership but the more than six-week conflict in Ukraine has reignited debate in the Scandinavian kingdom.

A policy reversal for the party, which ruled for an uninterrupted 40 years between the 1930s and 1970s, would be historic and could pave the way for Sweden to apply to join NATO.

The party, led by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, are said to have begun discussing the possibility of joining NATO today, with the issue expected to be a central to parliamentary elections scheduled for September 11.

Sweden is officially non-aligned militarily, although it is a NATO partner and abandoned its position of strict neutrality after the end of the Cold War.

Having initially stressed that non-alignment had 'served Sweden's interests well,' Andersson recently conceded that she was ready to discuss the policy and in late March said she 'did not rule out' a bid to join NATO.

Mr Peskov made clear that Russia would have to 'rebalance the situation' with its own measures were Sweden and Finland to join Nato.

The spiral of escalation has seen both countries increase their defence spending, with Helsinki announcing plans to spend £11 on drones and Stockholm adding another £243 million to their military budget.

Adding to the fears, Putin warned the West today that Russia will never again depend on them and he had no doubts about his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

'Its goals are absolutely clear and noble,' Putin said. 'It's clear that we didn't have a choice. It was the right decision.'

He said that Russians' unity will only grow stronger in the face of Western sanctions and it will be the West that will face instability.

Putin said the West mistakenly expected its sanctions to undermine Russia's stability, adding 'the Russian people always strengthen their unity in a difficult situation.'

He insisted that it will be the West that will be shaken by growing instability, fueled by public dismay over galloping inflation. The Russian leader also lashed out at European leaders, describing them as Washington's stooges and saying that they are conducting policies harmful to their nations.

Meanwhile, Putin said his faltering invasion is going to plan and claimed it is not moving faster because Russia wants to minimise losses.

He said the 'military operation will continue until its full completion and the fulfillment of the tasks that have been set.'

Putin claimed that Ukraine backtracked on proposals it made during talks with Russian negotiators in Istanbul, resulting in a deadlock in talks and leaving Moscow no other choice but to press on with its offensive.

At a space port in eastern Russia, he cited the success of the Soviet space programme as evidence that the country could achieve spectacular leaps forward in tough conditions.

Putin poses for a photo with employees as he visits the rocket assembly room today

Putin delivers a speech as he visits the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Region in Russia today

Women walk past a bridge that according to residents was destroyed by Russian army soldiers while they were pulling out of the town of Ivankiv, Kyiv region, on Tuesday

Firefighters try to contain a fire at a plant following Russian shelling, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Monday

Sixty one years to the day since the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin blasted off into the history books by becoming the first man in space, Putin travelled to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, 3,450 miles east of Moscow.

'The sanctions were total, the isolation was complete but the Soviet Union was still first in space,' Putin said, according to Russian state television.

'We don't intend to be isolated,' Putin said. 'It is impossible to severely isolate anyone in the modern world - especially such a vast country as Russia.'

Russia's Cold War space successes such as Gagarin's flight and the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite from earth, have a particular pertinence for Russia: both events shocked the United States.

The launch of Sputnik 1 prompted the United States to create NASA in a bid to catch up with Moscow.

Putin says the 'special military operation' in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia - including via the NATO military alliance - and that Moscow had to defend Russian-speaking people in Ukraine from persecution.

As Putin dismissed the atrocities in Bucha as 'fake' Ukrainian prosecutors today expanded their war crimes investigations in northeastern suburbs of Kyiv after Russian forces withdrew.

Reports of killings of civilians have primarily focused so far on the northwestern suburbs such as Bucha, but the Prosecutor-General's Office said Tuesday it was also looking into events in the Brovary district, which lies to the northeast.

Russian troops advanced into that area last month before retreating to focus on fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said the bodies of six civilians had been found with gunshot wounds in a basement in the village of Shevchenkove and that Russian forces were believed to be responsible.

Prosecutors are also investigating an incident in which they allege Russian forces fired on a convoy of civilians trying to leave by car from the village of Peremoha in the Brovary district, killing four people including a 13-year-old boy. In another incident near Bucha, five people were killed, including two children, when a car was fired upon, prosecutors said.

In Ukraine, Russian forces are continuing to pull out of Belarus to support operations in the east as Putin focuses his invasion on the Donbas region where Russian-allied separatists have claimed independence.

'Fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next two to three weeks as Russia continues to refocus its efforts there,' the UK Ministry of Defence said today in its latest intelligence briefing.

'Russian attacks remain focused on Ukrainian positions near Donetsk and Luhansk with further fighting around Kherson and Mykolaiv and a renewed push toward Kramatorsk.'

U.S. officials also point to further signs Russia's military is gearing up for a major offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, switching its focus after Russian forces failed in their initial drive to capture Kyiv.

Donbas has been torn by fighting between Russian-allied separatists and Ukrainian forces since 2014, and Russia has recognised the separatists' claims of independence.

Military strategists say Russian leaders appear to hope local support, logistics and terrain in Donbas favour Russia's larger and better-armed military, potentially allowing Russian troops to gain more territory and weaken Ukraine's fighting forces.

An elderly walks past an unexploded tail section of a 300mm rocket which appear to contained cluster bombs launched from a BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launcher embedded in the ground after shelling in Lysychansk, Lugansk region, on Monday

Russian troops drive a tank on a road outside the southern port city of Mariupol on Sunday

People walk down a street near past a building damaged by shelling in Irpin, in the outskirts of Kyiv, on Monday

Ukrainian soldiers shoot with assault rifles in a trench on the front line with Russian troops in Lugansk region on Monday

Russian troops have continued to shell Mariupol, with a British soldier fighting alongside Ukrainian marines in the besieged port city saying his unit has no choice but to surrender to the Russians.

Former care worker Aiden Aslin, 28, who moved to Ukraine in 2018 after falling in love with a woman from Mykolaiv, said forces have run out of supplies with Russians closing in.

It comes after claims Russia used chemical weapons dropped from a drone over Mariupol last night, as Putin continues his brutal assault on the strategic port city.

Aslin said in a message posted via a contact on Twitter: 'It's been 48 days, we tried our best to defend Mariupol but we have no choice but to surrender to Russian forces.

'We have no food and no ammunition. It's been a pleasure everyone, I hope this war ends soon.'

The post added: 'We're putting this out after direct consultation with his family. Until we're told otherwise we'll continue working on sharing the facts of the war. Hope for a prisoner exchange.'

Aiden Aslin is a former carer who previously fought against Isis in Syria. Now he says his unit will have to surrender to the Russians

Aiden Aslin, 28, moved to Ukraine in 2018 after falling in love with a woman from Mykolaiv , another Black Sea port close to Odessa. He is now in his fourth year with the Ukranian armed forces and was due to get married this Spring and complete his service in September

Mourners cry during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka, 47, who was killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Stebnyk, Lviv region, Ukraine, on Tuesday

Mourners cry during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka, 47, in Stebnyk on Tuesday

Families walk on a platform on their way to board a train at Slovyansk central station, in the Donbass region, on Tuesday

Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, is now in his fourth year with the Ukranian armed forces and was due to get married this Spring and complete his service in September.

When Russia launched their brutal invasion, Aslin was stationed in the Donbass region where separatists and the Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting since 2014.

There are an estimated 10,000 civilians who have been killed by Putin's army in Mariupol which has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.

Corpses are now 'carpeted through the streets' of the crucial port city, according to its mayor Vadym Boychenko.

He accused Russian forces of having blocked weeks of attempted humanitarian convoys into the city in part to conceal the carnage. Boychenko said the death toll in Mariupol alone could surpass 20,000.

Boychenko also gave new details of allegations by Ukrainian officials that Russian forces have brought mobile cremation equipment to Mariupol to dispose of the corpses of victims of the siege.

Russian forces have taken many bodies to a huge shopping center where there are storage facilities and refrigerators, Boychenko said.

'Mobile crematoriums have arrived in the form of trucks: You open it, and there is a pipe inside and these bodies are burned,' he said.

Boychenko spoke from a location in Ukrainian-controlled territory but outside Mariupol.

The mayor said he had several sources for his description of the alleged methodical burning of bodies by Russian forces in the city, but did not further detail the sources of his information.

The discovery of large numbers of apparently executed civilians after Russian forces retreated from cities and towns around the capital, Kyiv, already has prompted widespread condemnation and assertions that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a pro-Putin separatist leader has called for Russia to use chemical weapons to 'smoke out' 4,000 Ukrainian defenders at a key strategic steel plant in Mariupol.

Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, claimed thousands of Ukrainian fighters are taking shelter in the Azovstal complex, one of Europe's largest iron and steel works, which has so far defied Russian attempts to seize it.

He made the dire warning just hours after Ukraine accused Russia of unleashing a toxic agent from a drone over Mariupol, causing breathing issues.

Meanwhile, a column of Russian military vehicles has been seen heading towards the Donbas amid fears the Kremlin is set to unleash an onslaught on the eastern Ukrainian region.

The footage taken from Matveev Kurgan in the Rostov Oblast in western Russia shows the armoured vehicles travelling towards the Ukrainian border where Putin is refocusing his war effort, with civilians hoping to flee in nine evacuation corridors today.

The governor of Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, said: 'It's far more scary to remain and burn in your sleep from a Russian shell. Evacuate, with every day the situation is getting worse. Take your essential items and head to the pickup point.'

This morning, the Azov Battalion showed footage purporting to show victims of the apparent attack, who said they have since suffered respiratory problems, high temperatures and tinnitus.

Making further threats on Russian state TV, Basurin said today: 'What is Azovstal? It is a plant built back in Soviet times. There is a lot or concrete, iron, there are many underground floors. So it makes no sense to take this facility by storm.

'Therefore, at the moment it is necessary to deal with the blocking of this plant, find all the exits and entrances. In principle, this can be done.

'And after that, to turn, I think, to the chemical troops, who will find a way to smoke moles out of their holes.'

Yesterday's alleged chemical attack has not been confirmed but would be the first time Russia is believed to have used toxic weapons in Putin's barbaric invasion, which the Pentagon said is 'deeply concerning'.

US Defence Department spokesman John Kirby said: 'We are aware of social media reports which claim Russian forces deployed a potential chemical munition in Mariupol, Ukraine. We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The Azov Batallion showed footage purporting to show victims of the apparent attack, who said they have since suffered respiratory problems, high temperatures and tinnitus

Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, claimed up to 4,000 Ukrainian fighters are taking shelter in the Azovstal complex

Service members of pro-Russian troops pictured driving an armoured vehicle in the besieged city of Mariupol

'These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia's potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.'

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said her department is working with partners to verify the claims, which pro-Russian separatist forces have denied.

She tweeted: 'Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol. We are working urgently with partners to verify details.

'Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.'

Armed forces minister James Heappey added today: 'There are some things that are beyond the pale, and the use of chemical weapons will get a response and all options are on the table for what that response could be.'

President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted last night that the Russians might deploy chemical weapons, although he fell short of saying they had definitely been used in Mariupol.

The claim by the Azov Regiment (pictured), a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian military, could not be independently verified

Residents carry their belongings near buildings destroyed by Russian troops, in the southern port city of Mariupol

A man walks past a storage place for burned armed vehicles and cars, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Monday

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house after a Russian attack in Kharkiv on Monday

Ukrainian military expert Serhiy Grabskiy, head of the Union of Peacekeeping Operations, said that Russia faces serious losses in seeking to storm the Azovstal plant in the city.

'There are a huge number of underground communications [channels] through which the defenders can seep into the rear of the enemy and inflict very painful blows on him,' he said..

'Trying to destroy them will take a long time and require simply colossal resources that Russia cannot afford.

'Therefore, having despaired of winning such a fight, and realising that our guys will not give up, they are considering the use of chemical weapons of various properties.

'Of course, Russia claims they don't have chemical weapons.

'But the statement [from Basurin] that they want or can use chemical troops or chemical weapons in this case can have a fairly unambiguous reaction.

But it should be noted that, as a rule, flamethrowers are also in service with the chemical troops.

'That is, it is possible, for example, to burn underground communications channels with fire or use so-called thermobaric ammunition.'

Such weapons are illegal and Grabskiy said: 'Russia itself declared that in 2017 it had eliminated all stocks of chemical weapons.

'Therefore, God forbid, of course, to see this.

'But I do not exclude the possibility of the use of toxic substances.'

Basurin was given time on Russia's main channel to demand chemical weapons be used in a show hosted by Vyacheslav Nikonov, grandson of notorious Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov, after whom the Molotov Cocktail is named.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament tweeted to say it has received reports of Russian forces firing 'nitric acid' in the Donetsk region as it warned local residents to wear 'protective face masks soaked in soda solution'. It is not clear if the incidents are linked.

It follows a warning from the Ministry of Defence suggesting that Russia could turn to the use of a deadly phosphorus bombs amid attempts to finally break heroic resistance in Mariupol.

While strictly not considered a chemical weapon, the substance burns fiercely and can cause horrendous injuries, and its use on civilians constitutes a war crime.

Ukrainian prosecutors said Tuesday that six people had been found shot dead in the basement of a building outside Kyiv, the latest discovery fuelling allegations of Russian atrocities.

'The bodies of six civilians with gunshot wounds were found in a basement during an inspection of a private residence,' the prosecutor general said in a statement, adding that the killings took place in Brovary outside the capital Kyiv.

The killings were carried out by Russian forces who took control of the area at the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the prosecutor general said, publishing an image of what it said was the scene of the discovery with several bodies in a dark, concrete hole lit by a flashlight.

Russian troops have been accused of widespread atrocities across the country, particularly in areas around Kyiv from which they have now withdrawn. Moscow denies the allegations.

Ukraine says more than 1,200 bodies have been found around the capital.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday told lawmakers in Lithuania that officials in Kyiv were continuing to investigate crimes carried out by the Russian military.

'New mass graves are found almost daily. Testimonials are being collected. Thousands and thousands of victims. Hundreds of cases of torture. Bodies continue to be found in drains and cellars,' Zelensky said.

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine suffered another devastating blow after his force's death toll rose to 19,600 according to Kyiv's estimates.

Russia has only admitted 1,351 of its troops have died fighting in Ukraine since Putin invaded on February 24, a fraction of the figure estimated by Ukraine's armed forces.

Analysis has shown that a fifth of the Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are officers who were sent to the battlefield to oversee Putin's chaotic invasion.

An investigation found that of 1,083 Russian servicemen killed whose identity has been verified, more than 20 per cent were officers.

BBC Russian Service counted 31 majors and 155 servicemen ranked between captain and second lieutenant among the dead.

Their bodies were returned to their homeland up to a month after their death, suggesting their could be many more high profile casualties still in Ukraine.

The high death toll betrays baffling Kremlin tactics which have seen officers being sent to the battlefield to make their tactical decisions, putting them in danger. In the West, these roles are delegated to non-commissioned officers.

An extra 15 per cent of the identified fatalities were elite paratroopers and 25 per cent were special forces personnel.

They were likely killed in the battle for Hostomel airport near Kyiv, where Russian paratroopers (VDV) were deployed by helicopter on the first day of the brutal invasion.

They were sent with unarmoured light vehicles and when infantry was halted in the convoy towards Kyiv, more paratroopers were airlifted in.

Oleksiy Melnyk, a retired colonel and director at the Razumkov centre, told The Times: 'VDV are considered to be the most combat ready, effective, but at the same time they are not usually equipped with infantry fighting vehicles.

'They are only equipped with light vehicles — they have no heavy armour. It's another one of those stupid mistakes to use your special forces to complete infantry tasks.'

A woman places a picture on the coffin of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka, 47, who was killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during his funeral ceremony in Stebnyk, Lviv region, Ukraine, on Tuesday

Mourners react during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka, 47, who was killed during Russia's invasion in Stebnyn on Tuesday

Families walk on a platform on their way to board a train at Slovyansk central station, in the Donbass region, as they evacuate from the are on Tuesday

Meanwhile, a secret services 'whistleblower' in Moscow has warned of sinister plans for major new false flag attacks causing the 'deaths of hundreds of civilians' in border areas of Russia which will be 'blamed on Ukrainians'.

The attacks will be used by Vladimir Putin's war machine to justify a general mobilisation of Russian troops and a new lurch to militarisation, it is claimed.

The source nicknamed Wind of Change told opposition activist Vladimir Osechkin that the attacks will be against 'Z' and 'V' war symbols which are to be painted in the coming days on prominent residential buildings in border areas of Russia.

The symbols linked to the war in Ukraine have been likened to modern-day swastikas and are being promoted by the Russian propaganda machine.

Explosions in blocks of flats could cause 'hundreds of civilian victims', according to the whistleblower, purportedly an FSB insider.

The 'false flag' attacks will be blamed on Ukrainians and 'internal enemies' in Russia but in fact are being prepared by the authorities, he alleged.

The aim is to provoke a groundswell of national spirit which will be used by the Kremlin to impose a general mobilisation ensuring a flow of manpower for Vladimir Putin's faltering war effort.

Osechkin, the founder of gulagu.net who is now living in exile and on Russia's most-wanted list after exposing hideous torture inside jails, said his secret services source 'did not just pass us the information, but asked us to spread it as wide as possible'.

The whistleblower was trusted due to earlier information he leaked, said Osechkin.

'I must ask you to warn against very specific terrorist risks to civil infrastructure in Russia,' said the source.