A former Nato chief admitted yesterday that the world was facing a “dangerous moment” – as military chiefs war-game what Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin might do next.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a decorated British Army commander, called on the West to “keep a low profile” – and argued the rogue president was going nuclear rhetoric because “he’s in trouble”.

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He said Putin now had limited options after a week of escalation in which a powerful Oreshnik intermediate ballistic missile was fired at Dnipro in the east Ukraine.

However, Ukrainian commanders broke ranks to insist Third World War had begun and Lieutenant General Sir Rob Magowan, Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff, told MPs: “If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight.”

But Mr de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun on Sunday: “Nuclear Armageddon is off the table. It won’t happen. The hypersonic missile fired at Ukraine this week is still a test missile.

“And there is no way Putin can launch a tactical nuclear missile either. These are Iskander missiles with a range of 500 km.

“Now Ukraine has done it Storm Shadow missiles made in the UK and American ATACMS, they can take them out.

“I don’t think so NATO would stand by and allow Putin to launch a nuclear missile, but that is what is irking Western leaders at the moment.

“They know they can’t make a mistake on this.”

All eyes are on Putin to see what he does next.

He has an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles – capable of carrying nuclear warheads – at his disposal.

He could use short-range weapons to target the battlefield in Ukraine and NATO countries such as Poland.

His most terrifying option is the 65ft Poseidon – an underwater bomb with a range of 10,000km and powerful enough to create a 1,500ft wave of radioactive seawater that could flood Britain.

Even so, Mr de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons expert, urged the West to stand firm.

He said: “Putin is in a difficult position.

“The fact that he is so belligerent is because he knows he is in trouble.

“The 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops in Kursk sitting ducks. They are located in mounting areas and within range of the Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles.

“The rhetoric from Moscow has increased in volume but the situation remains the same – whoever holds Kursk at Christmas will have the upper hand in any peace talks.

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“Kursk is a hell of a bargaining chip. It is the key to the Russian psyche, hallowed ground for them. It was there that they defeated the Nazis in 1943.

“This is, of course, a dangerous moment. People are petrified. But as long as the West’s resolve remains strong, Putin’s options are limited.

“Gray zone acts of sabotage – deniable and unlikely to be the spark that ignites conflict – will undoubtedly increase in the coming days. So will Cold War nuclear rhetoric, but the Russians are really straining. They have lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

“If I were Sir Keir Starmer or Joe Biden I would say to Putin, ‘If you succeed in launching a tactical nuclear weapon, the overwhelming conventional response will end your “special military operation”.

Putin has vowed to use the Oreshnik missile again in “combat conditions” after firing it at Dnipro in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russia with Storm Shadows and long-range ATACMS.

Matthew Savill, head of military science at the RUSI think tank, said: “There are things Russia is doing to hurt Ukraine but this sent a message to us as Ukraine’s international supporters.

“They said, ‘Do you really want to play chicken with us when we have a lot of guns like this?’.

“They specifically sent messages to Europe given our own weaknesses in missile defense and lack of intermediate-range missiles.”

He added that sabotage was another problem.

Russia is suspected of instigating two attempts this month to plant explosives on cargo planes bound for North America.

One caught fire at a bidding center in Germany and the other ignited in a layer i Birmingham.

Putin has also lowered Russia’s doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons to say that an attack by a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint strike.

He has repeatedly laid out nuclear red lines since invading Ukraine, each of which has crossed the West.

Global leaders must decide if they are ready to play again.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned: “The threat is serious and real when it comes to global conflict.”

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The British back the Zeltruppers

Of Sophia Sleigh

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must stand by Ukraine even as President-elect Donald Trump waters down US support, a poll says.

Britons want to see Vladimir Putin’s Russia defeated and don’t want Britain to support a peace deal that is bad for Volodymyr Zelensky’s nation.

It comes amid fears that Trump will pressure Ukraine to cede territory.

The survey shows that 69 percent of the British believe that it is important for Britain that Ukraine defeats Putin’s invasion.

Only nine percent say it is not.

About 41 percent fear a Trump-negotiated deal would benefit Russia.

Just 13 percent believe Ukraine would benefit more, said a survey of 2,000 adults by the More in Common think tank.

Most want Britain to support Ukraine until it has regained the territory it had when the war began.

Almost half say Ukraine should decide on the use of the weapons we provide.

Luke Tryl, of More in Common, said: “British people think it’s important to bash Putin.

They are also clear that Keir Starmer should not support a US-negotiated peace deal that is bad for Ukraine.”