A British army general said it is ‘entirely plausible’ that Vladmir Putin could be aiming to revive the Soviet Union by invading Ukraine.

General Sir Richard Shirreff also warned that the UK could end up at war with Russia if the crisis intensifies and it attempts to attack more countries.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the retired Army officer said any incursion into Nato territory would bring Britain into direct involvement in the conflict.

‘There is no surprise and there is profound sadness and a sense of appalling horror at what is about to unfold for the people of Ukraine,’ he said.

‘And I think we have to assume that this is not Russia biting off a chunk of Ukraine – for example, establishing a land corridor in Crimea – but a full-blown military offensive to occupy Ukraine.’

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Sir Richard said President Putin could be aiming to revive the Soviet Union – which collapsed 1991.

He said that if Russia puts ‘one bootstep’ into Nato territory, the entire alliance will be at war.

Asked whether Britain might be expected to take part directly in the current military confrontation, he said: ‘Absolutely there is a possibility that we as a nation could be at war with Russia, because if Russia puts one bootstep across Nato territory, we are all at war with Russia. Every single one, every single member of the Nato alliance.

‘Article 5 (of the Nato alliance) says an attack on one is an attack on all, so we need to change our mindset fundamentally, and that is why I say our defence starts in the UK on the frontiers of Nato.’

Hundreds of civilians are feared to have died already after Russia invaded Ukraine with a wide-scale bombing campaign this morning.

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Ukrainian authorities have confirmed Russian boots are on the ground inside the country following gun battles and air strikes at various points on the border.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to ‘fight for our country’ but urged global leaders to help by providing more defence assistance.

Boris Johnson has vowed to respond decisively and will make a statement at 5pm today on the UK’s next steps.

He described the Russian military action in as a ‘catastrophe for our continent’ as he called for an urgent meeting of Nato leaders.

Nato allies have previously ruled out a military response to any invasion but have promised to respond with an unprecedented package of sanctions, some of which were rolled out earlier this week after Moscow formally recognised two illegal republics in the Donbas region and sent in troops.

World leaders have vowed to take action despite Putin issuing a chilling warning to the West telling it not to get involved ‘or face consequences greater than any in history’.

There are fears Europe is facing its biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II as thousands of people attempt to flee Ukraine to safe neighbouring countries.

Despite coming under heavy attack, officials in Ukraine have sought to project a confident front.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the military is ‘fighting hard’ and ‘inflicting significant losses to the enemy’.

He said that Ukraine ‘now needs a greater and very specific support from the world – military-technical, financial as well as tough sanctions against Russia’.

Another adviser, Oleksii Arestovich said the Russian strike has not achieved its goal to rout the country’s military.

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He said that ‘we suffered casualties, but they aren’t significant’, adding that the Russian strikes ‘haven’t eroded the combat capability of the Ukrainian military’.

And former Ukrainian national security chief Oleksandr Danylyuk warned that Putin has under-estimated the country’s ability to defend itself, saying ‘we will bury him’.

Mr Danylyuk said Ukrainians are mobilising against the attacks, telling BBC Radio 4: ‘At the moment there are about 36,000 people in the reserve but in reality it’s much more.

‘We’re talking about up to a million people who are able to take and defend a country, and this is something Putin will not be able to swallow.’

Asked whether he believes it is Mr Putin’s intention to destroy Ukraine, the former head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council said: ‘Yeah, that is his ambition and he will die with this ambition. We will bury him.

‘I know Ukrainians and he doesn’t. He was mistaken about Ukrainians for many years. We will teach him a lesson.’

Why is Russia invading Ukraine?

Russia has been steadily building a force of up to 200,000 on the border for several months, heavily outnumbering its neighbour’s army.

Ukraine’s military has been preparing for an assault with the assistance of Western allies but there is a gulf in capability between the two nations.

The conflict between the countries began in 2014 when a popular revolution saw the pro-Moscow government in Kyiv swept away.

In response, Russia annexed Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists forces in the eastern Donbas region declared their independence, triggering years of grinding conflict which has claimed thousands of lives.

Russian president Vladimir Putin penned a long essay last year setting out his ethno-nationalist belief that Ukraine is destined to be a part of Russia, a clear warning he did not intend to stop at the Crimean peninsula. 

US and UK intelligence has long warned Russia could use a range of military tactics to attack Ukraine.

Mr Putin has kept the world guessing about his true intentions in recent months and at times has appeared to suggest a willingness to engage with diplomatic talks, despite preparing for an incursion.

After weeks of rising tensions, Putin took a series of steps this week that dramatically raised the stakes.

First, he recognised the independence of two separatist-held regions in Ukraine – Donetsk and Luhansk.

Then he said that recognition extends even to the large parts of the territories held by Ukrainian forces, including the major Azov Sea port of Mariupol.

Finally, he asked for and was granted permission to use military force outside Russia – effectively formalising a  military deployment to the rebel regions.

He suggested there was a way out of the crisis – if Kyiv would recognise Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and renounced its bid to join Nato.

Both demands have been previously rejected by Ukraine and the West.

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