World not ready for World War III, Zelenskyy says
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Vitalii Nosach / RBC-Ukraine)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes the world at this stage is not ready for World War III. Reason lies in new technological threats and potential alliances of aggressor states, the head of state said in an interview with Irish blogger Caolan Robertson.
Why World War III could start
During the conversation, the president and blogger discussed the conflict in the Middle East, which could potentially lead to World War III.
Zelenskyy noted that at the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Moscow used drones with Iranian parts to attack the country. Now Iran is receiving Russian components, which allows Tehran to attack other Middle Eastern countries and US bases.
"Yeah, we can estimate that it is Russian details, not Iranians...Now Iran attacks other countries in the Middle East and American bases, and American soldiers. You know that a lot of losses already, that's why I mean it's understandable that this is the biggest risk, when the world has experienced during these last years, because it can be World War III, where we will be," the head of state said.
He added that if no one stops this war now, as the West should have stopped Russia at the very beginning, then the conflict in the Middle East could be long, at least until autumn.
Robertson noted that Zelenskyy had essentially predicted such a situation a year ago. At that time, he said in White House that if Russia's crimes are not stopped, it will reach your land.
"I said that we will have World War III. The president (Trump - ed.) didn't hear me, and with his guys, maybe they heard, etc. But I'm not sure that they can estimate that. For example, Russia began with weapons, Russia began to support with drones, and it definitely will help with missiles, and 100% it's helping now with air defense," the head of state said.
The President of Ukraine also added that in this scenario, there is only one question: which country will be the first to support sending troops. As happened in the war against Ukraine, North Korea sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia.
"Yes, they are on the territory of Russia, but they can come to Ukraine. So it can be the same with Iran. Russia can send troops." Ukrainian leader explained.
Why the world is not ready for global conflict
In response to a follow-up question about whether the world is ready for this, Zelenskyy said clearly: "The world is not prepared."
"The world is not prepared from the technical side. Not enough prepared - Europe. Only some countries. Yes, they on the way. For example, Germans are very quick, but it's not enough. It's not enough time to be prepared this year for, for example, such challenges. Yes. And the Nordic countries are also very technological countries. I mean, northern Europe they they are preparing," Zelenskyy said.
He added that the US army is certainly very strong, but it is necessary to separate war with missiles and drones and ground war (meaning the West is ahead technologically, but experience is important in ground warfare). In the case of a large war, these factors will come together, and experience in ground wars will be needed.
"So nobody has now experience with the land forces, what we have...A lot of human losses...New technologies, new war... And that's why I think this world is not ready for a world war, because a world war will not be just drones and missiles in any way. It will be with the land forces with land offensive steps and a global number of losses," he concluded.
World War III
Several weeks ago, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, in his opinion, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has already started World War III. Therefore, the task now is to prevent this war from becoming large-scale, which Ukraine is doing.
In the summer of 2025, Republican senator Lindsey Graham said that a continued supply of weapons to Ukraine is the only hope to avoid World War III. He is convinced that Russia can be stopped only by supporting Ukraine.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump repeatedly said in 2025 that there would be no World War III because of Ukraine.
