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NATO and Russia are close to unleashing a war, according to the retired General. In his book, he writes that NATO will be unable to provide a rapid response to lightning-fast action of Russia, while Moscow can bring the world to the threat of a nuclear war, Voice of America reports.

Shirreff was the second-ranking NATO military official from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, he was the commander of the Joint NATO Response Corps.

Shirreff wrote his book in the spirit of the popular action story filled with typical heroes and military jargon. But still he insists on his point of view. In the preface, he says that the book is no fiction but a prophecy based on facts, modeled on what he has come to know at the position of a military insider at the highest level.

Read alsoStratfor releases forecast of Ukraine-Russia relations in 2017Shirreff's story begins with a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian army rushes westward from Donetsk and Luhansk regions and down to the Crimean Peninsula, already seized by Russia in 2014. This conquest takes three days for Russia to complete, bringing it half of Ukraine. Besides, given Ukraine’s non-membership in NATO, the move brings no response from the Allies.

A few hours later, while NATO is still arguing about who has lost Ukraine, Russia moves on against the Baltic States.