I’m ex-CIA agent – nuke sabre-rattling Putin is master manipulator trying to bluff the West… but threat is very real

VLADIMIR Putin is simply a maestro manipulator who is trying to bluff the West into backing down, an ex-CIA cause has said.

But erstwhile quality expert David McCloskey warned Putin's threats person a "real impact" careless of whether they are based connected world oregon not.

It comes arsenic the Russian person has warned helium could onslaught British and US targets aft firing a caller hypersonic rocket astatine Ukraine this week.

The comments came arsenic a nonstop effect to Ukraine's usage of US-made ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles.

Mr McCloskey, who was recruited by the CIA astatine 19 and spent 8 years moving astatine tract stations successful the Middle East, said Putin knows however to usage the menace of weapons to execute his goals.

He told The Sun: "In the States, and I'm not definite however typical it is, but a there's precise vocal radical who instrumentality World War Three sabre-rattling seriously.

"They are utilizing it arsenic portion of an wide statement to fundamentally disentangle ourselves from the result successful Ukraine.

"You tin look astatine Putin and radical astir him and what they've said implicit the people of the struggle and accidental they've bluffed this implicit and implicit again.

"I deliberation astir what Putin says doesn't needfully person to beryllium based connected immoderate benignant of world to person a frankly existent governmental impact.

"Putin is simply a erstwhile KGB man, he's a maestro manipulator, and helium knows however to usage the menace of atomic weapons arsenic portion of that."

He was speaking up of the merchandise of his caller podcast The Rest is Classified with espionage writer and BBC information analogous Gordon Corera.

Mr Corera said neither Russia, the US nor Nato privation a warfare oregon to usage atomic weapons.

But helium said "we've moved up the ladder" towards a planetary struggle with the firing of US and British missiles towards Russia by Ukraine this week.

Mr Corera added: "On the 1 hand, if you'd said to maine a fewer years agone that Russia's carrying retired sabotage operations each implicit Europe, and American missiles are being fired into Russian territory, I'd person been astonished and said that suggests we're connected the verge of war.

"But the world is, we're inactive successful a concern wherever neither Russia nor the US and NATO privation a war, oregon for it to spell atomic - it's not successful Russia's interests.

"There's a batch of speech astir atomic weapons and Putin brandishing them to effort and get america to backmost down.

"Having said that, determination is ever a hazard that things get retired of hand, that each broadside feels they request to escalate.

"And that abruptly you get to a spot wherever neither broadside wants to be, which is thing adjacent to conflict.

"And I deliberation we've, you know, we've moved up the ladder rather steadily implicit the past mates of years of escalation."

It comes arsenic rumours person swirled since the outbreak of the warfare successful Ukraine implicit Putin's ill-health.

Suspicions arose again this week erstwhile the Kremlin was accused of pumping retired respective pre-recorded meetings of the tyrant with assorted Russian leaders.

Previously, it was thought the Russian ruler suffered from cancer, and helium has been known to question with a cancer doctor successful his entourage.

There were besides rumours respective years agone of aboriginal signifier Parkinson’s disease, erstwhile his manus was seen shaking, and helium powerfully gripped desks oregon chairs.

But Mr Corera says concerns implicit the Russian leader's wellness are often "wishful thinking".

He besides pointed retired that the nonaccomplishment of Putin does not needfully mean an extremity to the struggle oregon rising tensions.

The writer said: "People speech astir the information that immoderate tiny motion mightiness bespeak that he's not successful cleanable health.

"But I've ne'er seen oregon heard thing that truly suggests helium isn't. I deliberation we person to woody with Putin arsenic helium is, and wherever helium is now, and that's successful power.

"Who knows for however long, but he's been astir for a agelong time.

"I'm not sure, adjacent if helium went, that it needfully means, Russia changes absorption completely.

"You don't cognize that it wouldn't beryllium a (Yevgeny) Prigozhin oregon idiosyncratic who is perchance much unstable who could instrumentality his place."

His comments travel arsenic Putin called a concealed gathering connected Friday nighttime aft making his menace to the UK.

In a televised code this week, helium earlier warned: "Russia considers itself entitled to usage weapons against subject facilities of countries that licence the usage of their weapons against Russia.

"Since this moment, arsenic we person underscored repeatedly, the struggle successful Ukraine, provoked by the West, has acquired elements of planetary nature."

Putin continued: "In effect to the usage of American and British long-range weapons, connected November 21 of this year, the Russian equipped forces launched a combined onslaught connected 1 of the facilities of the military-industrial analyzable of Ukraine."

He warned the weapon, which helium says is "impossible" to counter, could beryllium utilized against countries that person allowed Kyiv to usage their missiles to onslaught Russia.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Rob Magowan besides made a bold connection to the House of Commons defence committee that Britain would beryllium acceptable to fight.

The subject main said Britain's equipped forced would beryllium acceptable to combat their Russian counterparts "tonight" if huffy Vladimir Putin were to invade different Eastern European nation.

The lawman main of the British defence unit told the committee: "If the British Army was asked to combat tonight, it would combat tonight.

"I don't deliberation anybody successful this country should beryllium nether immoderate illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, past we would conscionable them successful that fight."