The Russian President is reportedly incredibly close to pushing the red button as his army is seriously struggling to fend off a defeat in the war in Ukraine, an expert has told Express.co.uk. The latest act of provocation with the West came after blasts to Russian pipelines in the Baltic Sea triggered major gas leaks in waters covering both Sweden and Denmark. It is widely agreed that this was deliberate sabotage, with many pointing the finger at Moscow even though the Nord Stream 1 and 2 systems were designed to bring Russian gas to Germany via its Baltic Sea rout

Ukrainian presidential advisor, Mykhaylo Podolyak has gone so far as to call it "a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU", carried out "to destabilise the economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic". 

But Russia has denied any involvement, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov even calling for an investigation into who caused the sabotage, claiming to be "very concerned" by the news. 

This is despite the fact that Russian warships and submarines were seen in the waters near the leaks prior to the incident, which has been confirmed via satellite images. 

Hamish de Bretton Gordon, a nuclear expert from Cambridge University, says Russia's denial is yet one more piece of evidence that points to the fact that Vladimir Putin is "clinging on by his fingernails" and will "say anything" to justify launching a nuclear attack.

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