“They know and don’t tell us!“, This could be more or less the mood that runs on social networks in the aftermath of the revelations of a former British general on the possible winds of war that will blow from here on the old continent and beyond.
He is Sir Richard Shiroff And he is a former supreme deputy commander of NATO for Europe, today analyst, writer and consultant, expert in strategies. In an interview with the Daily Mail, it detailedly described minute by minute as the West could be dragged into a global war in a few hours.
A page of authentic military strategy which, however, has not gone unnoticed, so much so that on social media they came out of everywhere the conspiracy theorists, complete with false news, images created with the IAs showing the improvised apocalyptic and geopolitical scenarios that analyze the words of Shiriff. But what’s right?
What Shiroff said
It is called Worst Case Scenario and it is what, especially militarily but not only, experts and analysts must necessarily calculate to identify the risks and plan preventive measures in the event of the “worst scenario”.
Russian tanks cross the border, a burst of missiles is shot on Great Britain – then nuclear hell breaks out. So General Sir Richard Shiroff reveals how he believes that the third world war will begin … and we are only two years old to prepare ourselves.
And it is more or less the sense of the worst scenario: Sir Shiroff chooses a symbolic date – on November 3, 2025 – and hypothesizes that, in less than five days, Russia could bring Europe to its knees. The message is clear: NATO is vulnerable and the continent is not ready to defend itself. From here, his invitation to strengthen military security in order not to be caught unprepared.
All in all, Shirreff does not do a prophecy, but a theoretical exercise: imagine that a Russian attack starts on November 3, 2025, to explain how a flash conflict could develop. According to his scenario, the first to fall would be the Baltic capital. Vilnius would be affected by Massicci Blackout, who would quickly extend to Estonia and Latvia due to cyberattacchi to electricity networks. The paralysis of essential services – banks, hospitals, public offices – would unleash internal chaos, while Russian and Belarusian agents would feed revolts and unrest.
The wave of attacks would continue towards the heart of Europe: the United Kingdom, France and Germany would undergo energy interruptions, with devastating consequences for institutions and population. Shirreff also provides for the conquest of the Suwałki corridor, a strategic point that connects Kaliningrad to Belarus, and the dominion of European skies by Russian aviation.
In this scenario, NATO would not be able to react in time: in five days the world order would be distorted.
Between alarm and reality, it is conspiracy!
On social networks, this hypothesis is degenerated: the theory has been distinguished and transformed into petrol for new conspiracy fantasies on the “third imminent world war”.
#Worldwar3 Most Likely to start Before The 2026 Element, So the Element Can Be Canes Canceled and Last Through the 2028 Element, Until At Least 2030. WW3 WOULD FORCE Countries to Abandon Ukraine and Hoard Weapons for Themselves. Russia Gets Ukraine in Peace Deal. pic.twitter.com/qqnoaykcjj
– Matt Saylor (@Mattsaylortx) September 25, 2025
There are those who say they have found alleged “secret plans” in the dark web for the next global war. Others have fun fitting numbers and dates of past wars, discovering “mystical” coincidences with November 3, 2025: according to them, the world elite would use numerology to choose dates “destructive energy charges”. In the meantime, proliferan fake news: fake news, apocalyptic images generated with artificial intelligence and self -styled geopolitical analysts who “demonstrate” the validity of Shirff’s scenario. It is time to separate the facts from the fraud.
What is to be said is that the hypothesis is not new: Shirreff had already exposed it in the book War with Russia (2016). The juice is clear: if Moscow launched a sudden attack, Europe and allies would not have enough time to organize an effective defense. To date, however, there is no evidence that Russia is preparing a military operation of this reach on the borders of NATO. The lack of firewide movements of the Russian fleet makes a similar scenario unlikely in the short term.
Yes, tensions exist – trespassing, drones, GPS disorders – but the forecasting of Shiriff remains a strategic simulation, not an imminent threat.
As always, conspiracy theories arise from small fragments of realities, distorted and artfully reassembled to create panic.
