World War 3 fears hit Europe as warnings issued ahead of Russian military moves

World War 3 fears have hit Europe with warnings being issued to hospitals ahead of Russian military moves.

The ministry of health in France told health bodies in the country to prepare for a possible "major engagement" by 2026, documents obtained by Le Canard Enchaîné said. France's government is predicting a scenario where the country could need to support a large number of wounded soldiers from across Europe.

The order states the country aims to "anticipate, prepare and respond to the health needs of the population while integrating the specific needs of defence in the health field." France's ministry of health added: "Among the risks identified, therefore, is the hypothesis of a major engagement where the health issue would consist of taking care of a potentially high influx of victims from abroad.

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"It is therefore a question for our health system of anticipating the care of military patients in the civilian health system." The reported move comes after NATO said it was on alert amid Russian military drills.

Germany's chief of defence Carsten Breuer said he does not expect Vladimir Putin to attack a NATO member during the military training in Belarus, although the country will be "on guard" as the Zapad 2025 exercise goes ahead.

MailOnlinereported Breuer added: "We don't have any indication that preparations for an attack are taken under the cover of the exercise. But we will be on our guard, not just the German forces, but NATO."

NATO chief Mark Rutte previous raised concerns a third world war could be ignited by Russia and China. He said in July a combined attack by China and Russia could trigger a nightmare scenario.

Rutte said China could launch an invasion of the neighbouring island nation of Taiwan while Putin attacks one of the Baltic states. He told The New York Times: "Let's not be naïve about this.

If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, residing in Moscow, and telling him, "Hey, I'm going to do this, and I need you to to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory".

Rutte added NATO members needed to be prepared for Putin to rearm fast despite losing tens of thousands of soldiers in the meat grinder war in Ukraine.