World War 3 will become a reality in just two years with the UK at the heart of the global conflict, a former British Army officer has claimed. General Sir Richard Shirreff warns that any ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will only be used by Vladimir Putin as a way to rebuild his forces before attacking again.
He added that the UK and other Western allies urgently need to start preparing themselves for war. Writing for MailOnline, General Sheriff said: “We don’t yet know all the details of the deal with Russia. But one thing is certain: when the Kremlin is ready, Russia will renege in the most bloodthirsty fashion. I predict there will be war in two years at the outside, unless we do what is needed to deter Russia. What dictates whether the West can survive is how well prepared we are.”
He added: “Putin proved he cares nothing for the lives of Westerners when he ordered the assassination of defector Sergei Skripal in Salisbury seven years ago, using a weapons-grade nerve agent.
“Skripal and his daughter Yulia survived but an innocent Briton was killed and a policeman suffered life-changing harm. The death toll could easily have been in the tens of thousands in the quiet cathedral city of Salisbury. Western politicians have to work on the basis that, intentionally or not, Trump is effectively a Russian asset.
“Some sort of European peace enforcement presence will need to be in Ukraine, without active US involvement, but Russia will strongly resist any front line presence. Wherever the border is drawn between free Ukraine and the annexed territories, Putin will never agree to having NATO troops on his doorstep.”
US President Donald Trump has led the efforts for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
However, he has sparked controversy after branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” before clashing with him publicly at the White House last month.
President Trump spoke with Putin on a 90-minute phone call on Tuesday, discussing proposals for a limited ceasefire. Before the call, the US President said “land”, “power plants”, and “dividing up certain assets” would also be discussed.
However, Ukrainian President Zelensky appeared to be unhappy with certain aspects of the peace negotiations. On Thursday, he said it’s a “big gift to Russia” that NATO membership has been taken off the table by Mr Trump after US officials ruled out Kyiv joining the alliance.
Any ceasefire deal is likely to involve British troops being deployed to Ukraine to maintain peace.
This week, the Government announced that the UK will “accelerate the pace and scale” of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “We will continue to accelerate the pace and scale of operational planning with further meetings at our Northwood headquarters as we look closer at the detail and structure of any future force.
“As we look at force structures, we need to consider the best capabilities to meet the specific threats that Ukraine faces. Not all the countries in the coalition will have capabilities for Ukraine but might have the capability for other deployments which would free up other nations to deploy to Ukraine.”
