World War III.2 - Other Views

On 11 March 2022 Joe Biden, while speaking to the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia, said "... the idea that we’re going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand — and don’t kid yourself, no matter what you all say — that’s called World War Three..."

“As we provide this support to Ukraine, we’re going to continue to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message: that we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Biden said in Philadelphia on during a speech to Democrats. “If they move once -- granted, if we respond, it is World War III, but we have a sacred obligation on NATO territory.”

"Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24 marked the start of a third world war that could potentially destroy our civilization." George Soros wrote 11 March 2022. "The invasion was preceded by a long meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Feb. 4 ... I was surprised that Xi was clearly giving Putin carte blanche to invade and start a war against Ukraine.... Putin will soon turn 70 and he feels that if he wants to leave a mark on Russian history, he must act now or never. "

The third world war has actually begun, Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University, said in an interview with Spiegel. Roubini is one of the world's most well-known economists and a notorious pessimist: "To be honest, the third world war has already actually begun, especially in Ukraine and in cyberspace,” Roubini said. "We have to face the world as it is. Even if there is a nuclear confrontation. Because then the first bomb would fall on New York and the next one on Moscow."

Russia's attack on Ukraine, in fact, already means that the Third World War has begun - it is still only in its initial stages, former Latvian Prime Minister Einar Repshe said April 12, 2022 in an interview with Latvijas Radio. “The West has understood one mercilessly clear thing. (..) Unpleasant, but true. In fact, World War III has already begun. It is now at an early stage, it is somewhere in the stage of the Anschluss of Austria and the occupation of the Sudetenland (when compared with the events of the Second World War). But it has started,” he said. Although historians consider the beginning of that war to be September 1, 1939, the date of the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany - in fact, according to Einar Repse, it began in 1938, when Austria and the Sudetenland were given to Germany. This was done to appease the aggressor - but "bloody dictators cannot be appeased like that," he stressed.

The begun war, Repshe is convinced, can come to the end only in two possible ways: or full defeat of Russia, or a full victory of Russia. “The third option is some kind of peace agreements, opportunism. This will not be a solution, it will at best freeze the conflict for many years.”

A Russian missile reportedly hit Polish territory, killing two people on 15 November 2022, in an incident that immediately stoked fears of a World War. Polish leaders did gather for a "crisis" meeting after the missile hit. However, they didn't immediately go to NATO for help or issue a statement. It wasn't clear if the attack was intentional, although it immediately raised questions about how Poland's NATO allies will respond. Western officials later agreed that the Russian-made S-300 rockets were launched by Ukrainian forces as part of their ongoing effort to counter Russia’s attacks on their infrastructure. But that conclusion came after a long day of finger-pointing.

Prominent French intellectual Emmanuel Todd claimed the Ukrainian war is a World War because it is existential for both Russia and the United States; hence, neither side can back down. It is self-evident that the war is existential for Russia. Speaking to Le Figaro 12 January 2023, the anthropologist and historian claimed that, contrary to the prevailing idea that Russia has more to lose than its liberal opponents, the West, too, has entered into an “existential” conflict. “It’s obvious that the [Ukraine] conflict, which started as a limited territorial war and escalated to a global economic confrontation between the whole of the West on the one hand and Russia and China on the other hand, has become a world war,” Todd told the French newspaper.

Scandalous thinker for some, visionary intellectual for others, "rebel destroyer" in his own words, Emmanuel Todd does not leave anyone indifferent. The author of La Chute finale , who predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, had remained discreet in France on the question of the war in Ukraine . The anthropologist had so far reserved most of his interventions on the subject for the Japanese public. His latest book, "La Troisième Guerre mondiale a commencé" [" The Third World War has begun "] , was published in 2022 in Japan and sold 100,000 copies.

The historian largely agreed with the analysis of the international relations professor and proponent of ‘realist’ foreign policy John Mearsheimer that “from their point of view, the Russians are in a war that is defensive and preventive […] Because this is an existential question for them, they will strike back harder.” However, Todd suggested that his American counterpart “overestimates his country” in thinking that the US sees their involvement in Ukraine as “one game of power among others” and that the long-held belief of American exceptionalism is unjustified.

“No more than Russia, [America] cannot withdraw from the conflict, they cannot let go,” Todd claimed, “This is why we are now in an endless war, in a confrontation whose outcome must be the collapse of one or the other.” The additional prospect of China waging a cold war against the West will lead to the rise of developing countries like India, according to the French thinker, while Europe declines.

Todd argued 14 January 2023 the Ukraine proxy war is the start of WWIII, and is "existential" for both Russia and the US "imperial system", which has restricted the sovereignty of Europe, making Brussels into Washington's "protectorate". Todd told the French newspaper Le Figaro "It's obvious that the [Ukraine] conflict, which started as a limited territorial war and escalated to a global economic confrontation between the whole of the West on the one hand and Russia and China on the other hand, has become a world war".

First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic believes that the Ukrainian conflict in its characteristics is a world war. The head of the Serbian Foreign Ministry expressed this opinion in an interview with the Politika newspaper, published on 15 January 2023.

"This is a world war in all its properties, because its consequences concern the whole world, although armed actions are carried out only in one place. Almost the entire world is on one side or another. There are initiatives to create a group of friends of some or a group of friends of others in the UN. We we avoid participating in such, since being in one of the groups defined in this way implies the position of the enemy for representatives of the other group," Dacic said, answering a question about the possibility of classifying the conflict in Ukraine as a world war.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki insisted 17 January 2023 “The defeat of Ukraine may become a prelude to World War III”. Morawiecki said during his address in Berlin at a celebration of German politician Wolfgang Schauble’s 50-year career “The defeat of Ukraine may become a prelude to World War III, so today there is no reason to block support for Kyiv and postpone matters indefinitely”.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on 19 January 2023 reassured Germany that "no one has gone alone" amid fears in Berlin that sending tanks to Ukraine could trigger World War 3.

The conflict in Ukraine is not regional, but global, as its consequences are felt by the economies of all countries of the world. This was announced on 20 January 2023 by the Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France Bruno Le Maire on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "The war in Ukraine is not a regional conflict. I know that many countries around the world think that this is only a regional conflict. It is not. It is a global conflict, because it directly affects the price level, the cost of goods, energy" , - consider the head of the French Ministry of Finance.

The European Union is not and does not want to become a party to the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated on 20 January 2023 by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, speaking at the ceremony of presenting him with the New Economy Forum Prize in Madrid. "The EU is not involved in the war in Ukraine," he said. "We are not [one of] the parties to the war, we don't want to be." At the same time, the head of the EU diplomacy explained that the countries of the community "help militarily" Kyiv.

The ongoing hostilities between Moscow and Kiev are a truly global conflict that is sending ripples around the world, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, said on 20 January 2023. Earlier, Russian officials repeatedly insisted that numerous NATO nations were involved in the Ukraine conflict to a great extent. "It is a global war because what it did [is] it wiped out the peace dividends we have enjoyed for 30 years," the IMF chief told a World Economic Forum's panel in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Investments that could have gone into economic development are now being spent on defense and weapons, Georgieva added.

Deliveries of Western tanks to Ukraine could lead to World War III. This opinion was expressed 31 January 2023 by the French economist Pierre de Gaulle, the grandson of the ex-president of France, General Charles de Gaulle. Speaking at the round table "Memory of the Second World War in Russia and France. On the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad", de Gaulle noted that the decision of the West to supply Ukraine with heavy tanks increases the risk of unleashing the Third World War, since it provokes the supply of "everything more powerful weapons, weapons of ever greater range." "This is the abyss on the edge of which we stand," he added. According to de Gaulle, the supply of new Western weapons to Ukraine will not be able to have a decisive impact on the course of the conflict. The Ukrainian army, which, as de Gaulle noted, "is not sufficiently qualified," will not be able to influence the development of the situation either.