Has World War Three already started? As Europe comes eye to eye with Ukraine's President Zelensky, many worry that the West has reached the point of no return when it comes to weapons.
Ukraine's demand for jets turns up the heat
Has World War Three already started? As Europe comes eye to eye with Ukraine's President Zelensky, many worry that the West has reached the point of no return when it comes to weapons.
He beams broadly at the British King as the two shake hands, saunters offstage to hug a BBC journalist, giggles conspiratorially with Macron and Scholz over a minor flag mixup. And then, down to business: "We have freedom - now give us wings to protect it," he appeals.
Zelensky's whistle-stop European tour seems like more of a charisma offensive than a platform for negotiation. He greeted European leaders from Rishi Sunak to Olaf ScholzThe new chancellor of Germany. and Emmanuel MacronThe current president of France, nicknamed "Jupiter" after the chief of the Roman deities for his top-down manner of governance. like old friends.
But for the West, this might feel like a relationship moving too fast. Diplomatic relations between the UK and Ukraine began just 31 years ago, and bilateral meetings were intermittent. Now, in the midst of an ever-escalating war with Russia, the Ukrainian president is asking for valuable fighter jets and long-range missiles.
Western nations have recently committed to sending Leopard 1 and 2 tanks after a long furore and particular hesitation from Germany. But Zelensky has warned that Ukraine's position in the war could "stagnate" without combat planes and long-range weaponry.
Nobody wants to make any rash promises. According to conventional wisdom, whilst NatoThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was founded in 1949 to unite Western democracies in Europe and North America against the perceived growing threat of the USSR. It now has 31 members. allies can supply weapons for some proxyA person or country used to represent someone else. warfare (so long as they do not tip the balance in Ukraine's favour), direct engagement - for example if a Nato fighter jet toppled a Russian aircraft - could be an instant trigger for world war.
So far, the West has sent more than 320 tanks, 2,400 armoured vehicles, 450 artillery pieces and 135 air-defence systems to Ukraine. Zelensky's visit will inevitably lead to more support in the coming months.
But this has not come without retaliation. Some say the threat of nuclear warfare has risen exponentially over the months. One of Putin's closest allies and propagandists has alluded to nuclear strikes on Ukraine, Poland, the UK and the USA.1 December saw the first ever aerial strike on a nuclear base. A recent KremlinA central fortress in a city, used to refer to a complex in Moscow with five palaces and four cathedrals. The Russian government is run from within this citadel. leak revealed that Russia's regional governments have been ordered to renovate and update bomb shelters across the country.
And yesterday, Zelensky claimed that the Ukrainian army had intercepted Russian plans to "destroy" Moldova.
It is not controversial to call this a new Cold WarA period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed.. It has all the hallmarks: geopolitical tensions, nuclear paranoia, propaganda and threats of open warfare. But some go one step further, claiming we have already entered World War Three.
The ongoing war is the largest military conflict in Europe since World War Two, with 25 Nato members supplying military assistance to Ukraine. And despite hopeful predictions, it only seems to be growing.
Some experts think we have already lost our "exit ramp". They say that, at this point, the West is deluding itself by considering that the situation can be de-escalated. Every time it pokes the Russian bear, he gets closer to launching a nuclear warhead.
And Putin's ambitions are only growing. Chechnya. Georgia. Syria. Ukraine. Moldova? Poland? The world?
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong><strong>Has World War Three already started?</strong></strong></h5>
Yes: Unfortunately, there is little chance of de-escalating the war at this point. Putin's ambitions are only growing, and the West's military support is placing it increasingly in the firing line.
No: We should not stoke fear for what may never happen. Nobody wants to welcome all-out nuclear war, and survival instinct will prove more powerful than we might think.
Or... We could certainly call this a Cold War, but given that there is no direct warfare between Nato and Russia as of yet, it would be inaccurate to call it a world war.
Olaf Scholz - The new chancellor of Germany.
Emmanuel Macron - The current president of France, nicknamed "Jupiter" after the chief of the Roman deities for his top-down manner of governance.
Nato - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was founded in 1949 to unite Western democracies in Europe and North America against the perceived growing threat of the USSR. It now has 31 members.
Proxy - A person or country used to represent someone else.
Kremlin - A central fortress in a city, used to refer to a complex in Moscow with five palaces and four cathedrals. The Russian government is run from within this citadel.
Cold War - A period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed.
Ukraine’s demand for jets turns up the heat

Glossary
Olaf Scholz - The new chancellor of Germany.
Emmanuel Macron - The current president of France, nicknamed "Jupiter" after the chief of the Roman deities for his top-down manner of governance.
Nato - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was founded in 1949 to unite Western democracies in Europe and North America against the perceived growing threat of the USSR. It now has 31 members.
Proxy - A person or country used to represent someone else.
Kremlin - A central fortress in a city, used to refer to a complex in Moscow with five palaces and four cathedrals. The Russian government is run from within this citadel.
Cold War - A period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed.