BY DEFENCE EDITOR LEON PASTERNAK

IT MIGHT sound like the plot of a thriller – Russian mercenaries being bought by Western Intelligence and joining a spectacular thrust across far-eastern Ukraine to Rostov-On-Don, to cut the entire Russian presence in Ukraine off from its home base and supplies.

“That was the idea,” says an unnamed NATO source. “Except the Wagner guys bugged out. They were to take Rostov, march on Moscow, and Ukraine was to drive right across the eastern flank and into Rostov. Game over.

“Not sure what happened. Maybe Putin offered even more money than we did. But it was worth a try; and it’s left Putin looking like an emperor with no clothes. Potemkin villages can house Potemkin armies. Putin must surely be wondering whom he can trust in the Kremlin.”