Britain's unpreparedness for the rise of the Soviet Union on VE Day teaches a chilling lesson about the threat of Russia 80 years later, Sir Malcolm Rifkind has warned.
As peace rang out across Britain and Western Europe on May 8, 1945, there was lingering "unease" on the continent, the former Foreign and Defence Secretary said.
Speaking at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe at the London Scottish House, Rifkind warned that the Allies were "riddled with complacency" about developments behind the rapidly descending Iron Curtain.
"Though it was still absurd to believe that Russia could move on and occupy Europe, there was a sense that it might not be over," he said.
'Parts of the Second World War serve as a warning of what happens when we do not recognise a threat early. VE Day is one of those,' Malcolm Rifkind said
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"Some parts of the Second World War serve as a warning of what happens when we do not recognise a threat early. VE Day is one of those, the Munich Conference was another.
"There are lessons to be learned. Some of those go back to the 1930s.
"Now, we have an opportunity to learn from the past to prepare for the future."
His words were echoed by David Fergusson, Cambridge University's Regius Professor of Divinity, who said: "There are many things to be proud of in Britain, and we remember those on VE Day.
"But we're in a different place in history now, and we need to think about the future."
"This is a different time, a different Europe," he added, as he poured scorn on the "appeasement and complacency" towards Russia since the end of the Cold War.
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'There are many things to be proud of in Britain, and we remember those on VE Day,' David Fergusson said
ENGLISH HERITAGE"We must be prepared for a belligerent Russia... It's a wholly different situation to 1945 - the lessons we learned after VE Day may not apply altogether."
Their warnings come as Russia and the US are inching towards some kind of peace deal to bring an end to Vladimir Putin's three-year war against Ukraine.
Just yesterday, former US President Joe Biden warned the BBC that his successor, Donald Trump, was carrying out a kind of "modern-day appeasement" towards Putin, which would never satisfy Moscow.
And Rifkind had choice words for the Commander-in-Chief, too.
"There's no strategy under Trump," he said. "America was the shining city on the hill, but that has been lost. The damage that has been done by Trump will take years to undo."
'"Now, on VE Day, more than ever, the objective must be to teach the young,' Rifkind said. 'If they're indifferent to the past, how can we form a future?'
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Joe Biden warned that his successor Donald Trump was carrying out a kind of 'modern-day appeasement' towards Putin
GettyTheir words also came ahead of today's poignant VE Day anniversary, as well as Trump's claim that other countries marking the end of the world's bloodiest war was "strange".
"I think it's time that the United States start taking credit for their achievements. And it's I really believe it's a shame.
"I was watching for the last week and I noticed France... other countries all getting ready for Victory Day. And I said, that's sort of strange, because we rebuilt the world [after the war]."
Many, including the Royal British Legion, have acknowledged that this could be the last chance to celebrate and commemorate Victory in Europe Day with those who fought for it.
The First World War is soon to pass out of living memory entirely, with the world's oldest person, Briton Ethel Caterham, having been born in 1910.
"Now, on VE Day, more than ever, the objective must be to teach the young," Rifkind said. "If they're indifferent to the past, how can we form a future?"
