The former leader of the Ukrainian Armed Forces declared that World War III has already started, as tensions rise amid escalating strikes from both sides of the European conflict.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who served as Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief until being sidelined earlier this year by President Zelensky: “I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that World War III has begun.”
Speaking before Ukrainska Pravda’s UP100 award ceremony on Friday, Zaluzhnyi said that his homeland was already embroiled in an international conflict, noting the use of Iranian drones, North Korean missiles, and Chinese shells by the Russians.
“What we have been waiting for so long has already begun. But I want to say that God himself gives a chance, not only to Ukraine, but also all over the world, to have time to make the right conclusions now,” he said.
Appearing to lobby for even more Western weaponry, Zaluzhnyi added: “You can still stop here, on the territory of Ukraine. But for some reason our partners do not want to understand this.
“There are already too many enemies in Ukraine. Ukraine will survive through technology, but it is unknown whether it will be able to win this battle on its own. So I think the World War, welcome, it has begun.”
The comments from the former Ukrainian commander — who now serves as ambassador to Britain — come after a week of heavy escalations in the Ukraine war, kicked off by reports that lame duck U.S. President Joe Biden had authorised Kyiv to use long-range ATACMS missiles against targets within the Russian mainland, a move he had hitherto refused to back for fear of provoking the world’s largest nuclear power into a potentially globally devastating response.
The move by Biden was quickly followed by similar approval from London, which apparently signed off on the use of UK-made Storm Shadow long range missiles, which reportedly hit targets in the Russian region of Kursk on Wednesday.
In response, Vladimir Putin announced an update to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, now stating that “any attack” sponsored by a third party nuclear power on Russia, even if not nuclear in nature, would justify a nuclear retaliation from the Kremlin.
On Friday, Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, said that Britain is “now directly involved” in the war in Ukraine following the reported Storm Shadow strikes in Kursk.
When pressed as to whether the UK was officially at war with Russia, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “No, we are not at war, but Ukraine certainly is, because Ukraine has been invaded by Russia, and that war has now been going on for just over 1,000 days.
“That’s 1,000 days of aggression from Russia and 1,000 days of sacrifice for Ukraine, and that is why we have said consistently that we stand by Ukraine. We cannot allow Putin to win this war.”
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