There are growing fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over into an all-out war between NATO forces and Russia. These concerns escalated yesterday when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that Russia and NATO are now in “direct confrontation”.

This comes just a day after Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas urged Britain to bolster its military forces, amid fears that countries could be dragged into a direct war with Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the chilling warning when he marked the 75th anniversary of the US-led security alliance. He told reporters: “In fact, relations have now slipped to the level of direct confrontation.”

He said that NATO was “already involved in the conflict surrounding Ukraine, and continues to move towards our borders and expand its military infrastructure towards our borders”.

NATO expansion has long been a source of immense anger inside the Kremlin, with President Vladimir Putin claiming that the West betrayed Russia by continuously expanding eastwards even after the Cold War.

The war in Ukraine, which was partly sparked by Russian fears that Ukraine could join NATO, has further galvanised the security alliance.

NATO has expanded again with the recent entry of Finland and Sweden.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken marked the anniversary by claiming NATO was looking to “create a bridge to Ukraine‘s full membership”.

Russia has repeatedly warned NATO against further involvement in Ukraine, with the alliance providing Kyiv with advanced weapons, training and intelligence.

In February, President Putin said a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would be one step away from World War Three.

Meanwhile, a devastating double drone strike in Kharkiv left at least four people dead and 12 wounded in the Ukrainian city.

The brutal drone attack first attacked a 14-floor residential building – but a second strike followed up moments later to target the rescue workers who had arrived on the scene to help the victims.

Three of the fatalities in the attack on the northeast Ukrainian region were rescue workers.

The city of Kharkiv has suffered from near-daily barrages over the last two months.

Russian officials have openly called for Moscow to “erase Kharkiv from the face of the Earth”.