The collapse of a single European country could set off World War III, with Poland potentially becoming the first nation to come under attack. Sarah Paine, a professor of strategy and policy at the U. S. Naval War College and an expert in geopolitical strategy, issued the warning in comments reported by the British newspaper Daily Express.

Paine believes the current direction of international affairs is pushing the world toward a global catastrophe. Unless that course changes, she sees another world war as inevitable. While the professor cannot predict how such a confrontation would unfold, she is convinced that the use of nuclear weapons would result in an enormous loss of human life.

A direct military confrontation would also expose strategically important facilities to serious danger. Gene Sticco, a former U. S. Air Force nuclear protection specialist, identified major military centers and bases as potential priority targets. Among the locations he singled out were Plymouth and Barrow-in-Furness.

Poland faces a particularly serious threat in Paine’s assessment. She believes the country could be the first to suffer an attack if a third world war erupts.

The possibility of a military confrontation involving Poland has also been raised by Oleg Ivannikov, an adviser to the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, a Candidate of Historical Sciences and a retired lieutenant colonel. Speaking to aif.ru, he suggested that Germany could acquire weapons currently being developed by Spain and Portugal for the Ukrainian armed forces and eventually turn them against Poland.

Ivannikov went further, arguing that armed conflict between Berlin and Warsaw is inevitable within the next few decades. He believes Germany’s territorial claims will be the driving force behind such a confrontation.