Russia is massing troops along NATO’s borders preparing for a future potential confrontation with the Western alliance, sparking further fears of World War 3 breaking out.

In its annual threat assessment, Lithuania’s security services said Moscow is expanding military units along NATO’s eastern frontier while giving them combat experience in Ukraine, creating the backbone of a future fighting force. Vladimir Putin is already expanding brigades into divisions, forming new units and developing military infrastructure along NATO’s borders, including in the heavily militarised Kaliningrad region wedged between Western states Poland and Lithuania, says the report. This came as Russian sources this week highlighted a British “spy plane” monitoring the flashpoint Kaliningrad region twice in one day.

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