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could turn his once he secures his goals in Ukraine, General David Petraeus has warned, as he accused the West of dragging its feet on vital military support. The former CIA Director said Mr Putin's ultimate aim was not just holding four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces and annexed Crimea - but toppling President Volodymyr Zelensky and seizing control of the entire country.

Speaking during a Policy Exchange webinar on Thursday, he said: "They still want to control not just all four of these provinces and Crimea. They want to topple and replace him with a Russian puppet so they control all of Ukraine." And he warned: "Once that's done, you're going to see them start to focus toward, I'd say, one of the Baltic States - has featured prominently in his speeches - and we should be listening." The remark was a reference to Mr Putin's infamous description of the collapse of the USSR as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" - a statement General Petraeus - who warned Putin was "planning for a war against Europe" - said had laid bare the Kremlin's true intentions for years.

He said: "We should have listened a lot more when he answered that question...That gives you an insight into his grievance-filled, revanchist, revisionist history."

Gen Petraeus, who previously led coalition forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said NATO and EU allies had shown strength and resolve in the early phase of Russia's full-scale invasion - but had undermined their own efforts with a lack of speed and consistency in delivering weapons.

He said: "There's still a long way to go. We should have done so much for the Ukrainians that they could change the dynamic on the battlefield to one that shows Moscow they cannot achieve additional gains at acceptable cost."

He criticised the "protracted and frustrating" delays over equipment such as F-16 fighter jets, rocket systems and long-range missiles, saying the Biden administration had been "superb" at rallying support initially, but later failed to act with enough urgency.

"Each time Ukraine would ask for it, they'd be told no, then maybe, and then eventually they'd get it," he said. "Instead of the kind of swift and decisive action that would have been so much more helpful."

His comments come amid growing concern about the vulnerability of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - all of which share borders with Russia or its ally Belarus. All three are members of NATO, but military planners fear that their small size and geographic exposure leave them vulnerable to destabilisation, subversion or even a military push should Mr Putin test NATO's red lines.

Lithuania, in particular, has long been seen as a potential flashpoint due to its strong support for Ukraine, its severing of energy links with Russia, and its control of the Suwaki Gap - a strategic corridor linking Poland with the Baltic states, and cutting off Russia's Kaliningrad exclave from Belarus.

Despite repeated warnings from Baltic leaders, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds, NATO's response has largely focused on bolstering deterrence, rather than committing large-scale forces to defend the region outright.

Gen Petraeus's warning about Lithuania fits into a wider picture of Mr Putin's ambitions to rebuild a sphere of influence over former Soviet territories. From Georgia in 2008, to Crimea in 2014, and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin has consistently framed its actions in terms of historical grievances and perceived threats from the West.

In 2005, during his annual state of the nation address, Mr Putin described the USSR's collapse as a "tragedy for the Russian people," saying tens of millions had found themselves "outside the Russian Federation." The comment was widely interpreted as a signal of his desire to reverse Moscow's losses from the end of the Cold War.

Gen Petraeus said: "You could have chosen World War One, World War Two, the Great Depression - any others. And his response was the dissolution of the Soviet Union."

That worldview remained the ideological driving force behind the war in Ukraine - and the greatest long-term threat to Europe's security, Gen Petraeus stressed.