SVT Nyheter meets the British general Shirreff when he is in Sweden to give a lecture before the Royal Swedish Academy of Military Sciences.
He gives a clear message about where he thinks the Kremlin is headed.
What is the risk of war in the Baltics?
- It is obvious.
Putin's intention has been clear all along.
He has said that the most appropriate security deal for Europe is a new Yalta *.
I interpret this as meaning that he wants to re-establish Russian rule in the former republics of the Soviet Union.
And as we know, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are former republics of the Soviet Union.
Russian minority
An important reason, according to the general, is that there are many Russian speakers in both Estonia and Latvia, which increases the risk of a Russian invasion there.
- It is a danger that we must take very seriously and worry about, not least because there are significant Russian-speaking minorities in at least two of these countries.
Putin has also made it clear that he wants to reunite all Russians under the banner of Mother Russia.
Shirreff, who was one of NATO's top military personnel from 2011 to 2014, also does not rule out a Russian invasion of Poland.
- Poland was part of the Warsaw Pact and has at various stages been part of the tsarist empire, so we must consider Poland as a country at risk.
Looking at this in a broader perspective, all Eastern European countries that were once part of the Warsaw Pact and are now part of NATO are under threat.
Therefore, NATO must be prepared to deter all forms of attacks on any NATO member state.