NATO forces have been forced to scramble their warplanes in Poland after Vladimir Putin unleashed nuclear-capable bombers on Ukraine.
The Russian onslaught comes after the US flew their own B-52 bomber close to the border in an aerial show of strength alongside their European allies.
On Monday, US and Finnish troops took to the skies less than 50 miles away from Russia’s border.
America’s powerful B-52 jet is feared across the world with it being described as having “immediate nuclear and conventional global strike capability”.
It was seen flying from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to Estonia as it was flanked by both F35s and F-A18 fighters.
The event was set out as a routine training session before ending with a flyover above Tallinn to honour Estonia’s Independence Day.
Estonia, a proud Nato frontline state for over two decades, also used the flyover as a time to mark the third anniversary of Putin’s illegal invasion into Ukraine.
Hours after the ceremony, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky named Estonia among the five nations he fears are next on Putin’s hit list if he isn’t stopped.
Zelensky warned Eastern European states with “Russian roots”, Russian populations, or were part of the Soviet Union or its sphere are at risk.
He said Putin could use those populations as a pretext for another deadly invasion – much like he did with Crimea.
Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, and Moldova were all named by the brave Ukrainian leader as potentially being eyed up by the despot.
Russia remained quiet over the Nato airshow before launching a heinous attack on Ukraine.
Russia used a set of Tu-95MS jets to cause panic in Kyiv as residents were forced to rush to metro underground shelters for safety.
Moscow’s strategic missile carriers are often used due to their long range and threatening nuclear capabilities.
Putin is said to have over 55 Tu-95MS in his terrifying war arsenal.
Terrifying overhead explosions were heard in several Ukrainian regions including Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy and Cherkasy.
Drones were also used by Russia with several people being left wounded in the blasts.
The chilling explosions quickly alerted Nato forces who rushed into action and geared up to defend themselves.
Warsaw’s armed forces operation command headquarters said: “Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland.”
Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also “put on alert” amid fears Russia was unleashing missiles close to the Polish border.
At least two Tu-95MS bombers were reported taking off from Olenya air base in the Arctic.
Nato later confirmed the action was purely a defensive move.
Putin has been relentlessly blitzing Ukraine ever since he first insisted he wants peace with Ukraine“as soon as possible”.
The Kremlin have started to open up about what they desire in order to finally agree to end the bloodshed as they continue to speak with Washington over a truce deal.
These “positive” chats have done little to stop Vlad’s fury in recent days.
Over the weekend, he unleashed the biggest drone attack of the conflict so far with a total of 450 bombs dropped in just 48 hours.
These included 267 Shahed drones and UAVs on Saturday and another 185 more on Sunday, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed.
The aerial devastation came before France’s Emmanuel Macron‘s “productive” talks with Donald Trump over ending the war.
Macron stood side-by-side with Trump in the White House on Monday as he continued to push for Europe to be included at any further peace talks.
Speaking together, Macron said peace “must not be a surrender of Ukraine” as he also called on Europeans to do more to protect the Continent.
France have reportedly proposed the idea of sending fighter jets carrying nuclear weapons across to Germany.
The deterrent would act as a stark warning to Russia’s tyrant Vladimir Putin, a French official told The Telegraph.
Trump also repeated the war in Ukraine would “never have happened if I was president”.
He made a stern warning that any overspill outside of Ukraine‘s borders could have a devastating outcome if a peace deal isn’t secured soon.
Time to rearm
The Sun Says...
THREE years on from the start of Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the war has seen more than 1.3million killed or injured.
Brave Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to step down as Ukrainian president — in answer to Donald Trump’s bogus charge that he is a dictator — shows his commitment to peace.
But he is not the problem.
Blood-soaked Putin has already sacrificed more than 860,000 of his own soldiers and is no more bothered by current losses of 1,500 a day than he is by the deaths of 12,000 Ukrainian civilians ruthlessly targeted by his forces.
He is supported in this slaughter by the terrorists of Tehran and North Korean madman Kim Jong-un.
Meanwhile, China watches on.
The world is a very dangerous place right now and Europe cannot keep relying on America to fight its battles.
Even pacifists like Stephen Fry recognise that increasing spending on defence is not about ideology. It’s about self-preservation.
Sir Keir Starmer hinted that Britain will raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 and offer 30,000 peace-keeping troops for Ukraine.
But that is meaningless when we don’t have 30,000 troops to spare, when 2.5 per cent is not enough and 2030 is too far away.
What are we waiting for?
He said: “There will be a point where it is not going to stop at those two countries.
“Already there is such involvement from other countries and it could really lead to a very big war, World War III, and we are not gonna let that happen either.”
The UK’s Sir Keir Starmer is also due to meet with President Trump on Thursday to hold similar talks.
After the meeting, the United States shockingly sided with Russia in a UN vote on a resolution demanding that Putin’s troops leave Ukraine.
The US President’s administration joined Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Hungary and 13 others to oppose the call — with China abstaining.
Yet 93 countries voted in favour of the Ukraine-tabled resolution — which branded Russia the “aggressor” — including the UK and most European nations.
Despite the global opposition, Macron has now suggested a truce could be agreed between Kyiv and Moscow in a matter of weeks.
The positive comment come just days after the conflict entered its fourth year with fighting still raging along the border.
