Fiona Hill, a former White House Russia adviser and contributor to the UK's strategic defence review, has warned that Russia is at war with Britain and that the United States is no longer a reliable ally. In an interview with the Guardian, Hill described the UK's geopolitical position as caught between 'the rock' of Vladimir Putin's Russia and 'the hard place' of Donald Trump's increasingly unpredictable US.
Hill, who grew up in County Durham and served as Trump's chief Russia adviser, said Russia is already 'menacing the UK in various different ways', citing poisonings, assassinations, sabotage operations, cyber-attacks, and interference with undersea cables. She argued that Putin sees the Ukraine war as a starting point for Moscow to become 'a dominant military power in all of Europe'.
The defence expert first made a similar warning in 2015, stating that Putin had declared war on the West. She now believes events have proven her correct, noting that Putin has persuaded China, North Korea, and Iran to join what he sees as a proxy war with the United States. Hill also suggested that Trump's desire for a separate relationship with Putin has weakened the US-UK alliance.
Hill cautioned that the UK cannot rely on the US military umbrella as it did during the Cold War, and must manage its relationship with its number one ally carefully to avoid a rupture. The strategic defence review, published this week, acknowledges that 'the UK’s longstanding assumptions about global power balances and structures are no longer certain'.
Hill described the Trump White House as 'not an administration, it is a court', driven by a transactional president's own desires and interests. However, she noted Trump's special affinity for the UK, based on his family ties and admiration for the royal family. The review team reported to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Defence Secretary John Healey.
