Britain's former top NATO commander warns nuclear war with Russia 'possible'

dailystar.co.uk:

Russia is possible after Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine.Luhansk and Donetsk are two regions that broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and have been controlled by Moscow-backed separatists ever since.Putin officially recognised them as independent states on Monday (February 21) and on Tuesday the UK government said the "invasion of Ukraine has begun" after Russian troops entered the region.General Sir Richard Sherriff, author of "War with Russia", told BBC Radio 4 he believes Putin would not wage a war if he didn't think he could win it.He said: "This is the most dangerous moment in Europe probably at least since 1962 and the Cuban missile crisis, but it could be much worse than that because this is the invasion of a sovereign country which could turn into a catastrophic war – with warfare on a scale not seen in Europe since 1945."So I think it's difficult to overstate the seriousness of the situation."General Sherriff continued: "Once war has started, assuming Putin decides to continue what he has embarked upon and attacks Ukraine, the potential to escalate and potentially involve NATO is a very real possibility."He explained: "Nobody starts a war if they don't think they can win it."Putin thinks he will be able to take over Ukraine that is the assumption we must make from what we're watching in Donetsk and Luhansk."NATO has got to make it absolutely clear that whatever happens in Ukraine that it will not go further because if it doesn't and Putin thinks he can win a war against NATO then we're in a terrible position."The former NATO commander also warned about the potential for "nuclear blackmail".He said: "Russians integrate nuclear thinking into every aspect of their military.