The relationship between Russia and the UK (and a host of other countries) is not in a good place at the moment, but it may be even worse than we thought.
After the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy residing in Salisbury, England, various nations expelled Russian diplomats, believing that the Russian government were behind the attack. Evgeny Buzhinskiy, who served for 41 years in the Russian military, has now warned that the world is on the brink of "the last war in the history of mankind" following the actions taken by these countries.
The Salisbury incident involved Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Skripal was a former double-agent for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service before his capture in 2004. He was eventually released in 2010 as part of a spy swap, and has lived in England for several years since then.
Investigators revealed that a nerve agent, believed to be developed in Russia, was left on the door handle of the victims' home. After touching it, the pair were found collapsed in a nearby park and rushed to hospital, where they were placed into a medically-induced coma.
The spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement:
"This attack in Salisbury was part of a pattern of increasingly aggressive Russian behaviour as well as a new and dangerous phase in Russia's hostile activity within our continent and beyond.
"As the Prime Minister has said we must face the facts and the challenge of Russia is one that will endure for years to come."
May expelled various Russian diplomats from the UK, with other countries following suit in solidarity, despite Russia's claims that they were not complicit in the assassination attempt.
Buzhinskiy, who retired with the rank of Liuetenant General in 2009, was being interviewed by Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4 when he gave his chilling forecast of where this road leads.
According to Buzhinskiy, the situation created by these ongoing tensions will be "worse than the Cold War". When asked to elaborate, he said it will be "a real war," adding that "it will be the last war in the history of mankind".
He expanded on this statement, saying that this didn't just come down to the Salisbury incident, but other pressures his country is facing from the world's superpowers:
"The United States is saying the pressure will continue. What is that going to achieve? You are going to achieve regime change? It is useless.
"You don't know Russians. The more pressure there is, the more the society is concentrated around the President. You expel diplomats, we expel diplomats, you further expel, what's the next step? It's a breach of the diplomatic relations.
"Actually you are cornering Russia, and to corner Russia is a very dangerous thing."
Buzhinskiy also believes Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning, calling the theory "nonsense" and claiming that President Vladimir Putin "is the last guy to benefit" from the crime.
Sergei Skripal is still in a critical condition, but his daughter Yulia is said to "improving rapidly". Russia maintains its position that they had no motive to kill Skripal, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has even suggested that it may be a technique employed by May to distract from unfulfilled Brexit promises.
Regardless of the truth behind the matter, Buzhinskiy's words to offer an unsettling view of how it will all turn out.
