RUSSIAN media is reportedly preparing its citizens for a potential nuclear war with the West in the near future.

Various media sources based in Moscow, which are part of Putin’s state-controlled media, have been circulating articles about the potential for a nuclear conflict between Russia and Western nations.

Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) newspaper uses Russian “experts” to explain how such a conflict could happen – ramping up the nuclear war rhetoric.

Readers are told that Britain and Europe want to engage in a conflict with the Russian empire.

This could happen by the end of the decade when “European forces reach full operational readiness”, the newspaper reports.

It comes after a senior US army general threatened to launch a “faster than ever” attack on a Russian WW3 flashpoint.

The newspaper argues multiple Western politicians and military figures have threatened war.

And it threatens to launch an attack on the West – claiming “there is no place in Europe [Russia] cannot hit”.

Andrei Klintsevich, who leads the Centre for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, remarked to the newspaper: “They seek a major war to break Russia into smaller independent states and gain unrestricted access to our natural resources.”

Lintsevich accused the West of mobilising its military-industrial complex, mining borders, and building defences.

The aim is to provoke Russia, accuse Moscow of “aggression”, and launch direct confrontation, he told the paper.

He demanded that Russia now stage a nuclear weapons test in the Arctic – the first since the end of the Cold War – to deter the West.

The independent news organization Agentsvo reported that the article in KP — allegedly Putin’s preferred newspaper — was “designed to condition Russian public opinion for a possible conflict with Nato”.

“Russia would have to respond — not only diplomatically. Missile strikes would be inevitable, as securing a land corridor through Odesa and Mykolaiv would require considerable time and force,” explained the newspaper. 

General Christopher Donahue, commander of the United States Army Europe and Africa, said Nato could capture Kaliningrad – Moscow’s strategic military fortress in the heart of Europe.

Wedged between Poland and Lithuania, the region of Kaliningrad is heavily militarised by the Russians.

It is cut off from the rest of Putin’s empire, but could be used by the tyrant to launch an attack on Europe.

Using the strategic exclave, the Russians could also take over the Suwalki Gap – a hard-to-defend strip of land less than 60 miles wide that links the rest of the Nato countries to the Baltic nations.

Donahue had argued that Nato could destroy the heavily militarised Kaliningrad “in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do” in the event of Russian threats against allied states.

“Donahue’s words confirm that they are preparing to seize Kaliningrad,” said  Klintsevich.

“The Swedish island of Gotland is already being turned into a powerful warship — with air defence systems, anti-ship missiles, and more being deployed there. Estonia and Finland are forming a joint group.”

He warned Russians: “Under a made-up pretext, they’ll block Kaliningrad’s air and sea routes.

“Our protests and ultimatums will be ignored, forcing our troops to fight their way through the Suwałki Gap [a 60-mile wide strip of land connecting NATO states Lithuania and Poland, flanked by Russia – Kaliningrad – and its ally Belarus].

“In such a case, Europe would launch a ground operation in Kaliningrad using large numbers of rockets, artillery, and drones,” said the newspaper.

“The Alliance believes that occupying Kaliningrad would cut Russia off from the Baltic once and for all,” said military expert Alexander Zimovsky.

Another flashpoint starting a new war in Europe could be ex-Soviet state Moldova, says KP.

Russia’s foreign intelligence service SVR has warned that Nato “is rapidly turning Moldova into a military staging ground.

Another trigger point for  World War Three could be the north, claimed Sergey Sudakov, of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences.

The most likely threat is Finland, which recently joined NATO.

They have “solid military infrastructure, which the alliance could use for attacks on St Petersburg, Karelia, and Murmansk,” said Zimovsky.

KP stressed: “While a Kaliningrad conflict might be settled, an assault on St Petersburg would risk triggering World War Three.”

The Kremlin has ramped up its nuclear rhetoric after the threats from the US commander – with Putin’s henchmen accusing the US of “unleashing World War Three”.

Terrifying secret plans setting out how London would deal with a nuke attack have been obtained by The Sun.

The chilling documents lay bare the grim reality of how Londoners would face nuclear Armageddon in great detail.

The tirade from Moscow comes as the Kremlin pushes on with its war against Ukraine – launching nightly bombing raids to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, Trump agreed to sell defence systems to Ukraine and slap brutal 100 per cent tariffs on Russia if Moscow does not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days.

It comes after ex-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that WW3 has already begun and that his boss Putin should bomb the West.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, raged that Nato and the West are effectively already at war with Russia as he pushed the Kremlin’s view that his country is the victim.

That’s despite it being Russia who invaded Ukraine and is continuing to wage a bloody war.

Medvedev accused the US and Europe of an attempt to “destroy” Russia which is “hated by the West”, he claimed.

Diplomats say his remarks give an indication of the thinking among some within the Moscow political elite.