Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov warned British troops face war in the Baltics where he alleges Putin is plotting an invasion - and now he is wanted by the Kremlin11:35, 23 May 2026Updated 12:06, 23 May 2026Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov has been put on the Kremlin’s international wanted list after he warned Vladimir Putin is plotting an invasion of the Baltic states, which he said could lead to war between Russian and British forces.‌Kasparov - one of Putin's most outspoken critics who now lives in exile - was slapped with “politically-motivated” charges of “justifying terrorism” in absentia.‌Kasparov, 63, rattled Putin by arguing he has reached a “dead end” in the Ukraine war. He suggested the Russian dictator will seek a small “victory over NATO” in the Baltics to compensate for his humiliation in Ukraine.‌Kasparov said this could take the form of Putin sending forces to swoop on limited territory in Estonia and Latvia, both NATO members.If Putin decides to move on the Estonian city of Narva, Kasparov said, this could lead to UK forces stationed in the country fighting to defend Estonia against the Russians with no time to wait for a NATO decision on collective defence.‌“Putin is clearly at a dead end in Ukraine,” said Kasparov. “The front line has frozen, he can do practically nothing there, with mere gains and enormous losses.“A dictator in his position needs some kind of success. Putin, like any dictator, understands that he can be forgiven for everything except losing the war.”If the Kremlin dictator is forced to halt his bloody campaign against Ukraine - in which he has lost almost 1.4 million Russian troops - “there can only be one success,” he said.‌Kasparov said Putin will seek "to inspire people with the idea that we defeated NATO". He added: "This would involve a provocation or attempt to seize some, perhaps small, areas of NATO territory in the Baltics—this likelihood is growing every day."Kasparov pointed to two likely symbolic targets. “Any success, however limited, is important. Capturing five square kilometres [2 square miles] of territory near Narva [Estonia] or Daugavpils [Latvia].” These are “Russian-speaking cities close to the border”.‌In the case of Narva, Kasparov said British troops could find themselves at war without activation of NATO's Article 5. He implied a secret agreement which would allow the British - with around 900 soldiers in Estonia - to fight outside the NATO umbrella.“If we imagine for a second that the Russian army - or rather, even its limited contingents - cross the NATO border in the area of Narva [Estonia] or Daugavpils [Latvia], then someone will have to respond,” he said.“Nobody is going to wait for orders from [NATO HQ in] Brussels, from an American general who would then call Washington.Article continues below“And so….we hear Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians openly saying that the Western contingents stationed there - for example the British contingent in Estonia and the Canadian brigade in Latvia - will respond according to the decisions of the local authorities [in Tallinn and Riga].“In other words, the Estonians are clearly saying that the British brigade will fight alongside the Estonians without waiting to hear what Brussels says. I believe there are other agreements as well. We do not know everything.”