The outgoing head of the British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders has warned that NATO may only have five years to prepare for war.
General Sir Patrick warned that the world was facing one of its most dangerous moments since 1945 when the world was last at war and that the alliance may have until the end of this decade to be ready.
Sir Patrick also highlighted that despite performing well in some areas, the UK’s armed forces were also underfunded and overstretched.
His warnings come at a time of rising global tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s warnings of Taiwan, and the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
Speaking to the Times, Sir Patrick warned the world was faced with “as dangerous a moment as any time that we’ve had since 1945” and described China, Russia, and Iran as “the new axis powers”.
Speaking about the UK’s own defence capability, Sir Patrick said the UK had good cybersecurity but was lacking in areas such as air defence. He warned: “We defend against terror threats very effectively.
“We have a huge gap in air defences. We need to ensure that our skies are protected with greater investment and that the undersea cables that we rely on are protected from Russian sabotage.”
While Sir Patrick has warned that WW3 could break out within five to six years, one politician has warned that it could happen even sooner, within three to four months.
Speaking earlier this year to Die Weltwoche, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic responded to a question about the likelihood of war with a shocking answer.
He said: “I believe we are not far from it. Not more than three, four months. And there is a danger to happen even before that. We are getting closer to a real disaster. Who is ready to lose 1 million, 2 million, 5 million, 10 million, and 15 million people? I’m not ready to lose a single man and won’t participate in that.”
President Vucic added that Serbian officials had been told to check stocks of “oil, flour, and sugar” because of the growing risk of a global conflict.
His warnings followed an intensification by Vladimir Putin of his rhetoric, renewing fears that the start of World War 3 may be closer than we think. The Russian President told foreign ministry officials last month: “Calls to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, which possesses the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons demonstrate the extreme recklessness of Western politicians.
“They either do not understand the scale of the threat they are creating – or are simply obsessed with their own sense of impunity and exceptionalism. Both can lead to tragedy.”