World War III has already started, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, per multiple reports.
According to Republic World, Danilov made the statement Wednesday during the Kyiv Security Forum. He was referencing the ongoing Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine.
Since Russia began its attacks early this year, the U.S. has provided support to Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine this week to “underscore unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereign territory and the people of Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing aggression,” per a press release.
Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has championed for the country to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, officials are concerned that would provoke direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia. Each country has more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, more than every other nuclear-armed country combined.
“The events that will take place in the world will not stop. If anyone thinks that the Third World War has not started, then this is a big mistake,” Danilov said this week, according to AGC Communications. “It has already started, a certain hybrid time has passed, and now it has entered an active phase. And if someone thinks that this showdown between Russia and Ukraine is a mistake, everything will be more complicated.”
Pravda reported last March that Danilov has made similar comments about the invasion signaling the start of the next world war. He also said this week that the international community’s reaction to the destruction Russia – with President Vladimir Putin at the lead – has caused in Ukraine is sufficient, according to the Kyiv Security Forum.
“Getting ready for winter is important because it means both economy and our people. Another issue is that the world’s reaction is quite poor for what Putin does attacking not the military, but critical infrastructure facilities, striking food warehouses, destroying capabilities that cannot be destroyed according to rules and customs of war,” said translated comments from Danilov.
According to an Aug. 28 update from the United Nations, 9,511 civilians have been killed and 17,206 have been injured since the invasion began.
While Danilov said he believes that existing sanctions from the West are strong, he urged a total ban on any goods from Russia. He claimed that Russia’s foreign trade has grown despite the sanctions.
“Let me ask, what is happening to the world? Aren’t the countries doing business with the Russians accomplices in the murders of our children?” he said. “It’s not a difficult question, but it’s not a courteous one to ask as, unfortunately, when it comes to principles and money, some choose money. Trading principles one definitely loses.”
So far, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in assistance for fighting off the Russian invasion. The U.S. Department of Defense Wednesday announced an additional security assistance package valued at up to $175 million.
Blinken discussed the additional U.S. assistance with Ukrainian officials this week and “encouraged continued progress on Ukraine’s reform agenda, including combatting corruption and safeguarding the autonomy and integrity of Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities and courts,” said the State Department.