NATO countries could face a direct confrontation with Vladimir Putin within “two years,” according to a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The warning comes as the Russian president opted not to attend peace talks in Turkey with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mordvichev killed tens of thousands of his own men in the Kremlin’s operation to capture the blitzed town of Avdiivka in Ukraine.

There is no specific intelligence at present that suggests Russia intends to attack NATO. But intentions are fluid. In his public speeches, Vladimir Putin has justified his war to conquer Ukraine in several ways: the need to defend Russian-speakers in Donbas;