Putin has put world one step from nuclear apocalypse – here’s how it could be triggered by accident, warns ex-KGB agent
VLADIMIR Putin has put the world on the brink of a nuclear apocalypse - and the danger could be even higher than ever, a former KGB spy has warned.
Jack Barsky, an infamous sleeper agent who spied on the US for ten years during the Cold War, gave the grim warning as he said the world is facing "dangerous times".
The 73-year-old compared the situation to the fractious days of the Cold War - when on at least three occasions the world came just one decision away from Armageddon.
But he explained the world now has the added complication of Russia having an ageing, poorly maintained nuclear arsenal - all heightening the danger of an incident that could spiral into World War 3.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have flared dramatically in the past few days, with an apparent drone strike on the Kremlin on Wednesday.
Footage showed a flying object exploding in flames above the fortress in central - where the president has his office and an apartment.
READ MORE ON PUTIN
The Kremlin claimed the US was behind the attack after accusing America of being a direct participant in the war, intent on inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia.
A chilling nuclear warning was also issued by Putin's former Satan-2 hypersonic missile Dmitry Rogozin after the alleged assassination attempt on the Russian President.
He urged Vlad to unleash nuclear weapons on Ukraine in retaliation for the audacious attack - which was firmly denied by Ukraine's president Zelensky.
"We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities," he said.
Most read in The Sun
Drone strikes and powerful rhetoric in recent weeks have all added to simmering tensions between the warring sides with fears one wrong move could spark a nuclear Armageddon.
"BIGGEST MISTAKE"
Barsky believes Putin's invasion of Ukraine was the "biggest mistake" of his life - with his decision likely being based on dodgy intelligence or willful ignorance.
However, he disagreed with some experts and insiders who have suggested Putin could be ousted - instead saying the future of Russia is well and truly tied to Mad Vlad.
"[Putin] is not suicidal and all his threats about going nuclear are just
bluster meant to intimidate," Barsky told The Sun Online.
"However, when tensions are high, the possibility of an accidental launch increases.
"Also, I am concerned about the condition of the Russian nuclear arsenal which is quite old and may not have been maintained as well as necessary.
"We indeed live in very dangerous times."
He added: "[The Soviet Union] knew that the moment they launched only a single nuke in the direction of Nato they would all die.
"However, there were three situations where misunderstandings or mistakes brought the world close to nuclear destruction."
Russia has always been vocal about its nuke combat readiness but it appears many of its rusting missiles may not be up to the job.
Just days ago three Russian missiles failed to hit their targets in Ukraine narrowly missing apartments on its own territory.
Some of Vlad's ageing warheads were designed decades ago and most likely need refurbishment or replacing altogether after being sat in storage.
Without the ability to test the ageing ammo with its new components, it's impossible to tell if they could still work.
This combined with jittery Russian fighters means that the risk of a doomsday strike could be higher than ever.
Last month it was revealed that a Russian fighter jet attempted to shoot down an RAF spy plane over the Black Sea in what would have been considered an act of war.
The Russian pilot believed he'd had ground clearance to lock on to the British warplane with 30 crew members onboard.
However, an attack on a Nato ally was narrowly averted when the missile malfunctioned missing its intended target.
Russia has repeatedly dangled the sword of nuclear destruction over Ukraine and the West - hinting they could use the devastating weapons if certain red lines are crossed.
And it was reported this week that the West managed to talk Ukraine out of striking Moscow due to fears such a move could trigger a nuclear response from Russia.
"The Ukraine war was the biggest mistake of Vladimir Putin, because [he] underestimated the iron will of the Ukrainian people to fight as bravely as they have," said Barsky.
He explained that Putin's decision to invade last February - a move which has cost him nearly 200,000 soldiers and left Russian as an international pariah - was likely based on dodgy intelligence and his own arrogance.
"After 24 years of unchallenged power, Putin has learned to believe
in only self. He now is certain that he is always the smartest
person in the room," said Barsky.
"It is understandable that many individuals in the Putin government will play it safe and only tell him what they believe the President wants to hear."
His assessment was backed up by leaked documents revealed by The Sun Online - that showed Putin's own cronies were terrified of telling him the truth about invading Ukraine.
CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
Vlad is understood to have expected to send his army marching across the border as liberators - but instead, they were met with fierce resistance.
The catastrophic failure of Putin's original plan to storm across Ukraine and seize Kyiv in just days has seen the war devolve into a bloody, meat grinder-style slog through the trenches.
And now the world is waiting to see what Ukraine does next in mounting a counteroffensive.
Barsky believes the war will only end when one or both sides lose the will to fight - with any negotiated peace being at this stage out of reach.
He does not think there is a strong enough faction within Russia to oust Putin - who has successfully consolidated his power after rising through the ranks of the KGB.
The former sleeper agent explained how Vlad was a very average agent - being a mid-level bureaucrat within the spy service rather than a hardman killer and spook.
KGB sleeper agent in New York
JACK Barsky spent a decade working as a sleeper agent for the KGB in New York.
He was born in East Germany as Albrecht Dittrich and was recruited to the Soviet secret service when he was just 20.
Telling his family he was working as a diplomat, Dittrich quickly found himself working as a spy - being sent to Moscow in 1975.
And then just three years later, he was sent to the US as a sleeper agent - adopting the naming Jack Barsky.
The name was stolen by the KGB from a child who had died at the age of 10 in 1955.
Barsky told his family he was on a five-year mission to Baikonur Cosmodrome, a top-secret facility at the home of the Soviet space program.
He snuck into America via Mexico - flying in with a Canadian passport, Barsky's birth certificate and $6,000 in cash.
His job was to get close to US President Jimmy Carter's security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.
The spy spent ten years cultivating contacts and feeding information back to Moscow from his apartment in New York.
And then just years before the collapse of the Soviet Union - the KGB turned on him.
He was sent a secret signal - a splash of red paint on a subway platform - telling him to immediately report to the Soviet Embassy in Canada.
However, Barsky decided he did not want to return - fearing for the welfare of his infant daughter, Chelsea.
Another spy approached him and told him he would wind up dead unless he compiled - but instead, he lied to his handlers, telling them he had HIV.
And so Barsky stayed in the US living a quiet life, until he was rumbled by the FBI in 1994.
But he was never charged with any crimes and was allowed to become a US citizen in 2014.
His mum back in the Soviet Union died before ever knowing the truth about her son.
Barsky has since worked as an espionage analyst and even helped the FBI.
Putin however was "smart" and used "street fighter" instincts to rise through the ranks - creating a network of allies who helped him consolidate power when he became a politician.
Vlad went from working at a KGB office in Dresden to being Prime Minister of Russia in just 10 years.
And because of those deeply ingrained connections that he's spent the last quarter century consolidating in the Kremlin, Barsky believes Vlad is here to stay - with little will to depose him.
"Throughout Putin’s reign well over 100 wealthy businessmen died under suspicious circumstances," he told The Sun Online.
"The alternative, a coup d’état by a coalition of the military and the
intelligence services are also unlikely.
"The group of powerful men directly under Putin are all ruthless and power-hungry.
"They do not trust one another.
"For a conspiracy to succeed, all members must keep the planned putsch top secret.
"If only one of them betrays the group, all the others will die."
He added: "The odds of Putin dying from natural
causes are greater than the alternatives.
"Despite the losses of sons and husbands in the Ukraine war, the majority of the Russian people still support Putin and the war.
"One of the strongest features of the Russian national character is the fear of invasion."
Barsky added: "Vladimir Putin has spent his entire career nurturing
that fear by blaming everything that was not working well within
Russia primarily on NATO."
