The Daily Mail reports that during an interview on Russia’s state TV, TV channel Rossiya 1, a former Russian colonel laid out a plan for Vladimir Putin to invade the Baltic States, including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
During the program that was broadcast in December 2021, Colonel Igor Korotchenko used a map to show how Putin’s forces would also seize a Swedish island, Gotland.
The island with a population of 59,000 people would then be used by Russia as a base for “aircraft missile systems” and “anti-ship systems.”
Korotchenko added that the invasions would start with Russian forces knocking out NATO’s radar systems, blinding them to the attack.
The invasions would force the Baltic countries to pledge allegiance to Vladimir Putin, and force the Swedes to negotiate a 99-year lease for the island of Gotland.
We need to understand that Russia’s state TV would not be allowed to air such a program without Putin’s approval.
Majority of Swedes and Fins now support joining NATO
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has threatened Finland and Sweden several times against joining NATO.
If Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was intended to intimidate countries against joining, unsurprisingly, it has had the exact opposite effect.
A recent poll in Finland revealed that 62% now support joining NATO. READ: YLE: Support for NATO membership rises to 62% in Finland
A similar poll in Sweden discovered that for the first time in its history, a majority of Swedes support joining NATO. Though it is only a slim majority, 51%, the support jumped 9% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a month ago. The number of people opposed to joining fell to 27% down 10%, with 22% stating they were uncertain. READ: Majority of Swedes back joining NATO for first time
Meanwhile, in the US, the FBI charged 5 for spying on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party
Fox News reports that the FBI has charged five people for allegedly spying for the Chinese Communist Party. Three have been arrested and two are still at large.
Fox News adds that the FBI charged the five for allegedly “targeting, harassing and spying” on Chinese nationals living in the US who have pro-democracy views and have publicly opposed the Chinese Communist Party.
Fox News explains:
The five defendants are accused of threatening and spying on Chinese individuals in the United States who expressed opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in an effort to help Chinese officials target them for arrest, DOJ officials said.
In one case, Lin attempted to derail the U.S. congressional campaign of a U.S. military veteran who was a student leader in the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests in China in 1989. Lin threatened to attack the candidate, among other crimes, in order to prevent his election to Congress, according to Peace.
READ: 5 charged with spying for China inside US; 3 arrested, 2 at large
RELATED: Police Arrest Three People For Allegedly Spying On Congressional Candidate, US Olympian For China
RELATED: U. of Florida Removes ‘Karl Marx’ Study Room Following Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Many believe the obvious weakness in the US Presidency is emboldening tyrants around the world.