Poland readies evacuation plans through 'Nato's weak spot' amid fears of Russian attack within weeks

It sits between Russian-allied Belarus and Moscow's heavily-armed Kaliningrad exclave, making it a critical Western defensive priority.

Were the Kremlin to seize control of the gap, the Baltic nations - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - would find their overland connections to Nato cut off entirely.

Warsaw and Vilnius are now collaborating on a formal agreement to establish an evacuation framework, according to Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre.

The centre's chief, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said: "Procedures, logistics, and infrastructure capabilities are being analysed together with colleagues from Poland, and the plan itself should be developed once an agreement is reached between the two countries."

Such plans may also encompass border restrictions designed to ensure mobilisation proceeds smoothly and to "prevent people in certain key roles from leaving the country".

The development coincides with large-scale national exercises across Lithuania, designed to test readiness against hybrid warfare, cyber threats and acts of sabotage.

The Suwalki Gap, which runs along the Polish-Lithuanian frontier, has long been regarded as Nato's Achilles heel

GETTY

Around 3,000 officials and 1,000 volunteers are participating in the drills, which are scheduled to continue until October 2.

Some 20 Polish officials have travelled to Lithuania to join exercises focused on border procedures.

Neighbouring states have experienced an escalating campaign of covert hostile operations as Moscow probes the limits of Nato's resolve.

Danish intelligence issued one of the most alarming assessments yet, warning that Russia could mount a military assault on a Nato country in a matter of weeks.

According to the Danish report, published on Thursday, Moscow could carry out long-range strikes against alliance infrastructure or launch an incursion into a neighbouring state.

The Danish assessment also suggested Russia may attempt to test Nato's Article 5, the collective defence clause where an attack on one state is treated as an attack on all.

That warning arrived just hours after a blaze at a Starlink satellite facility in central Poland, which local authorities have warned was an act of sabotage.

In the weeks prior, Nato fighter jets were scrambled to destroy a drone over Lithuanian airspace, a Russian warship directed flares at a Danish military helicopter, and a suspected Russian drone was discovered on a Polish beach - all in a single overnight period.

Germany publicly accused Russia in August of orchestrating an attempted drone attack targeting Leipzig airport.

And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared earlier this month that Moscow was readying hybrid drone and missile operations aimed at any country which backs Ukraine.

Danish intelligence has warned that Russia could mount a military assault on a Nato country in a matter of weeks

GETTY

Hours after his warning, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance was bracing itself for a Russian attack on Europe and a Chinese invasion of Taiwan at the same time.

Speaking on a visit to the UK, Mr Rutte urged on Europe to "step up" on its own defence.

He raised the alarm over a "two-theatre conflict", predicting that China could force Russia to launch an attack on the continent while it invades Taiwan in the Asia-Pacific.

Then on Thursday night, China's Xi Jinping urged Donald Trump to come around to the "correct position" on Taiwan.

"China's position on safeguarding its national unity and territorial integrity is crystal clear," an ominous statement said.