Ukraine’s Zelensky says he believes Putin has started World War III

South China Morning Post · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

Full Article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC.Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelensky said that his view of the conflict was different from that of US President Donald Trump.“We have different views regarding a third world war,” Zelensky said in the interview, translated from Ukrainian into English by the BBC and published late on Sunday, London time. “I believe that Putin has already started it. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him.”Zelensky went on to say that “Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves. Therefore, I believe and have long believed, that Putin has already begun this war and we’re preventing it from becoming a broad full-scale third world war.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: AFPThe Ukrainian leader also said he was counting on reliable security guarantees from the United States for his country that do not depend solely on the will of the US president.“As presidents, we have fixed terms,” Zelensky said when asked if he trusts Trump. “We want guarantees for 30 years for example. Congress is needed. Presidents change, but institutions stay.”