Max Hastings, author of Nemesis, All Hell Let Loose and Catastrophe, said he had a ‘duty’ to ‘tell the truth’ following Donald Trump’s recent moves to sideline the US’s natural allies
One of Britain’s most celebrated military historians has issued a dire warning to the UK and the wider Western world over a “dangerous turning point” in the Ukraine war. Max Hastings, author of Nemesis, All Hell Let Loose and Catastrophe, said politicians were yet to understand the “gravity” of the US’s recent moves to sideline its allies.
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has appeared increasingly willing to cosy up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin while turning on Ukraine’s Volodomyr Zelensky, even subjecting him to a tirade in front of the cameras during an ill-fated meeting in the Oval Office last month. Close neighbours and allies, including Canada and Denmark, have also been hit with tariffs and threats to have their territory annexed.
Mr Hastings, a former foreign correspondent who reported from the front line of the Falklands war, said he had spoken to many academics who shared his “pessimistic” view of the current global situation – and believed people with his experience had a “duty” to “tell the truth as we see it”.
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He wrote in the Times: “Three British historians whom I chanced to meet at dinner on Wednesday agreed that we are at an immensely dangerous turning point. Yet none of our leaders is attempting to inspire a public debate, to explain the gravity of the dilemmas and decisions.”
Max Hastings also recalled his regular email exchanges with Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan, who told him that the US’s drastic pivot in its foreign policy was “unprecedented” in history. When he jokingly suggested that his grim assessment of events may simply be representative of the “pessimism that overtakes old folks”, she is said to have told him: “Yes, but what if this time we are right?”
It comes after a former British Army general warned that World War III could be as little as two years away should Putin look to take advantage of a botched ceasefire deal. General Sir Richard Shirreff believes Vladimir Putin could use the Ukraine ceasefire proposals being pushed by Donald Trump’s team to rebuild his forces and get ready for all-out war with the West. Gen Sir Shirreff, who was in the military for nearly four decades until 2014, has urged the UK to prepare now for such conflict – or suffer the dire consequences.
He wrote: “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.”
Some nations, including France and Sweden, already started distributing leaflets to their citizens telling them what to do in the event of an invasion. One 20-page ‘survival manual’ issued by the French government last week suggested that people could prepare an emergency survival kit, including a stockpile of food, water, batteries, and medical supplies such as paracetamol, compresses, and saline solution. In late 2023, Sweden sent out five million leaflets to households entitled “If Crisis or War Comes”, including advice on what to do if armed conflict broke out.
