Vladimir Putin’s key propagandist has hinted that Russia could invade more countries after Ukraine.
Sergey Mardan is a popular television and radio host in Russia who regularly appears on prime-time TV.
The ultranationalist is a staunch supporter of Putin’s war in Ukraine and a firm believer in restoring Russia’s empire.
In a recent appearance, the Kremlin stooge gave the clearest indication that his boss will not be satisfied with the conquest of Ukraine.
“We are a country that has been defeated in a great and long confrontation – the Cold War,” he told his audience in a recent TV appearance.
He continued: “And we need to stop lying to ourselves and constantly look for excuses. We lost a third of our country. It is a defeat.
“But we will take back, if not everything we lost, what is valuable to us.”
Three years ago, Putin described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “disintegration of historical Russia”.
“We turned into a completely different country. And what had been built up over 1,000 years was largely lost,” he said.
One area that has historically been of particular interest to the Kremlin over the course of centuries is the Baltics, where large minorities of Russians still live today.
Since Ivan IV, the ambition to reach the strategically vital coast of the Baltic Sea was a key military and political goal for Russia’s leaders.
It was Peter the Great who first colonised the area in the 18th Century, as Russia established itself as a major naval force.
After a brief period of independence following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Baltics were incorporated into the Soviet Union until its demise in the early 1990s.
Today, there are growing fears that if Russia succeeds in in Ukraine, then Putin will next turn his attention to the Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Earlier this year, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna predicted that Putin would test NATO’s resolve within the next three to four years.
“We must understand the Russian war machine has started in the full scale, the capabilities for production and the mentality as well, because Putin is controlling now everything,” he said.
Recent satellite photos show the Russian army is building up its forces at a military base in Luga, just 120km (75 miles) from the Estonian border.
Military trucks, tanks, and armoured vehicles were spotted back at the base after its military unit had been deployed to Ukraine.
Moreover, the garrison town’s brigade is believed to have 12 Iskander ballistic missile systems.
