Panicked Putin’s Desperate New Plot Revealed

Vladimir Putin may be getting more dangerous as his war in Ukraine drags on — and U.S. intelligence officials are reportedly worried the increasingly pressured Russian leader could eventually test NATO directly.

For years, American officials largely believed Putin would avoid attacking a NATO member while his military remained bogged down in Ukraine.

Now that assessment appears to be changing.

A new U.S. intelligence assessment reportedly raises the possibility that Russia could launch a cyberattack, sabotage operation or even a limited ground incursion against NATO territory in an attempt to see how far Putin can push the alliance without triggering an overwhelming response.

The potential danger window could begin as soon as this fall and extend through 2029, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The chilling reassessment comes as Putin faces mounting problems from a war that was once expected to produce a swift Russian victory.

More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian forces have managed to slow Moscow’s battlefield advances while increasingly bringing the war onto Russian soil.

Ukraine has unleashed waves of long-range drone attacks targeting Russian oil refineries, military facilities and logistics infrastructure deep inside the country.

Meanwhile, Russia continues paying an enormous price in manpower.

A July report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that roughly 450,000 Russian troops had been killed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. BBC Russian and independent outlet Mediazona have separately identified more than 236,000 Russian military deaths by name.

That combination — mounting casualties, limited battlefield gains and increasingly visible Ukrainian attacks inside Russia — is reportedly fueling concern over what Putin might do if he believes his options are narrowing.

And NATO countries have already been dealing with an unsettling series of incidents.

Russian drones and missiles have crossed into or approached NATO airspace in countries including Poland and Romania, while European governments have investigated cyberattacks, sabotage attempts and mysterious fires amid growing fears about Russia’s so-called hybrid warfare campaign.

One of the most alarming incidents came this week in Germany.

A drone carrying explosives was discovered near Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Separately, a DHL cargo plane leaving the airport struck an unidentified object and was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Hanover.

German authorities are investigating the incident, while Russia has denied involvement and dismissed suggestions connecting Moscow to it.

The episode came after another disturbing case involving property linked to former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were sentenced in June for their roles in a series of arson attacks connected to Starmer.

Prosecutors said the men were directed by a mysterious Russian-speaking Telegram user known as “El Money” or “EL,” who offered payments and communicated with those involved in the plot.

Lavrynovych received seven years in prison, while Carpiuc was sentenced to two years.

A BBC investigation subsequently linked the operation to Russia, though publicly available court evidence did not establish that the Russian government itself directly ordered the attacks.

That distinction matters — but Western security officials have increasingly warned that Moscow can use criminal networks, proxies, hackers and covert operatives to create chaos while maintaining a layer of plausible deniability.

For Putin, that strategy would hardly be unprecedented.

Russia famously used unidentified soldiers during its seizure of Crimea in 2014.

The armed troops, quickly nicknamed Putin’s “little green men,” appeared across the peninsula without identifying insignia, seized airports and government buildings and helped Moscow take control while the Kremlin initially obscured the extent of its involvement.

Russia ultimately annexed Crimea.

Now U.S. officials reportedly fear Putin could attempt another carefully calibrated operation — this time aimed at NATO.

Rather than ordering a massive conventional invasion that would almost certainly trigger NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense provisions, Moscow could attempt something deliberately ambiguous: a cyberattack, sabotage operation or small territorial incursion designed to expose divisions among alliance members.

The goal could be to discover just how much aggression NATO would tolerate before responding militarily.

The danger, according to the intelligence assessment, may grow as the Ukraine war drags on and pressure on Putin to deliver some kind of victory intensifies.

That puts NATO leaders in an increasingly uncomfortable position.

They must avoid handing Putin an opportunity to portray the West as escalating the conflict while simultaneously making unmistakably clear that even a limited attack on NATO territory could carry enormous consequences.

NATO says it is preparing for exactly that possibility.

“We are always thinking through and preparing for any number of scenarios,” NATO spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell told The Wall Street Journal.

“NATO is watching and we are ready to deter and defend as necessary, which we continue to demonstrate.”

The biggest question now may not be whether Putin believes he can defeat NATO outright.

Few analysts believe Russia could do so.

The more troubling question is whether a cornered Kremlin might gamble that the alliance can be intimidated, divided or pushed just far enough before its members decide to fight back.