Leaked documents claim to reveal Vladimir Putin’s belief that his invasion of Ukraine would last three days and cause NATO to collapse.
The Russian leader reportedly expected a lightning victory in Ukraine and for NATO to fracture, leaving Western countries begging him for mercy, the spy files reportedly show.
The intel comes from inside the FSB security service, from a source known as Wind of Change, and was leaked to Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin.
The letters are believed to be the work of several FSB officers who have become disillusioned with Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
As the invasion war grinds past the one year mark, with the Russian death toll topping 150,000, the insanity of Putin’s vision is clear - but the leaked emails provide a fascinating glimpse into the tyrant’s mind.
In an email dating from the start of the Russian invasion, Wind of Change describes Putin’s vision of success including shattering NATO and bringing the West to heel.
The West would be sent an ultimatum, following the lightening takeover of Ukraine, demanding that Russia’s occupation be accepted with a no-fly zone declared over Poland and the Baltic states.
Russia’s “nuclear triad would be activated”, a source said, referring to air, land and submarine launched nuclear missiles.
That would reportedly lead to the "withdrawal of several countries from NATO” and possibly the European Union, reports The Sun.
This would ultimately lead to the “fundamental collapse of the West within the time allotted (by Putin) after the ultimatum was issued”.
Putin reportedly foresaw Russia's return to a dominance it had not enjoyed since the height of the Soviet Union, with Western countries scrambling over each other to fall into line.
Scared Western countries would issue “separate appeals to Russia that they are not conducting aggressive actions against Russia and they are not part of the possible war”.
"Russia’s strength in position (for negotiations) will be comparable to that of the USSR,” writes Wind of Change.
"In the future, this will allow Russia to take political control of a number of countries that were part of the USSR. NATO as an integral structure will cease to exist."
Putin has previously cited Poland and the Baltic states joining NATO as a security threat and used it to justify his invasion of Ukraine.
The collapse of NATO would lead to a “fundamental collapse of the West”, the author continues, revealing the grand scope of Putin’s aims for the war in Ukraine.
Russia expert Keir Giles told reporters Putin was on “an entirely different plane of reality” adding that Putin’s ambitions, as described by the FSB insiders tallied with his previous dealings with NATO.
But history has given the lie to Putin’s grand ambitions.
Instead of being swept to global dominance after a swift victory in Ukraine, Putin now faces a grinding war of attrition with troops stalled for months, sky-high casualties and NATO and Europe united in offering backing to a Ukraine that shows no sign of faltering in its resistance to Russian aggression.
