‘We’re at a very dangerous point’: Intelligence suggests Russia may aim to broaden war in Europe

​News24 defence analyst Peter Jennings says signs Russia may seek to broaden the war in Europe point to “desperation”.

​“The sense of alarm that we’re seeing around various European leaders right now, what that tells me is that they are in possession of intelligence which says that Russia is trying to broaden the war," Mr Jennings told News24 host Jaimee Rogers.

​“I think what Putin is doing is he’s trying to make it clear to European countries that there’s a price for them to pay if they are seen to be supporting Ukraine.

​“You can read this more than likely as a sign of Russian desperation that the war has been going badly for them really all this year; they’re not making significant advances on the ground, on the battlefield they’re losing large numbers of casualties, and the Ukrainians are now attacking Russian oil facilities...which are starting to bring the consequences of the war back home to the Russian population.

​“So we’re getting to potentially a significantly more desperate period; European leaders are worried, and I think that means we need to be very cautious about the risks that the war might broaden over the next few months.”