Putin Possibly Preparing For War With West By Building Underground Hospitals, Experts Fear

Worries about Russian President Vladimir Putin expanding his war with Ukraine to the rest of Europe have escalated on Monday as reports of underground hospitals being built and alleged spies entering countries in the continent have popped up.

Sources privy to Russian strategy said that basements and bunkers in many Russian cities are being converted into underground hospital and medical facilities for civilians in preparation for a potential escalation to the Russia-Ukraine war that may prompt Europe and NATO to respond, Mirror reported.

The Kremlin is reportedly planning on bombing the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine as a way of forcing the hand of a NATO response. In preparation for a potentially bigger war, Russia is planning a larger conscription practice that involves women as well.

“This is not an escalation as far as nuclear strikes but it does approach the threshold for a NATO reaction,” a senior European official said. “Russia knows it will face serious, so far unpublicised consequences if it launches a nuclear strike so it is testing the West with atrocities just below threshold.”

Former member of Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations Boris Bondarev also claimed that Putin was ready to sacrifice up to 20 million of his own countrymen just to ensure his political survival in the country, Sky News reported.

“You should have no doubt about it, he may sacrifice 10 or 20 million Russians just to win this war just to slaughter all Ukrainians because it's a matter of principle. It's a matter of political survival to him,” he said. “You have to understand that, if he loses the war, it will be the end for him.”

Other European countries that have borders with Russia have reported thousands attempting to enter the country to escape mobilization, as well as suspected spies who were found with drones on important infrastructure in countries like Norway, which is reportedly being drawn into the war due to it becoming the new supplier of natural gas in the continent, The Guardian reported.

“We’re seeing the consequences of the new security situation in Norway,” justice minister Emilie Enger Mehl said. “We can’t rule out further cases.”