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UKRAINE has warned the West that World War 3 will erupt if Russia wins – and called on the US to finally hand over its long-stalled £50billion aid package.
The remarks followed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s frustration at his allies for protecting Israel’s air space while his cities are blitzed by Russian missiles.
AFP
AP
EPAUkraine’s PM Denys Shmyhal urged the US Congress to pass the bill, which has been strongly opposed by Republican hardliners and tied up by political squabbling for months.
“We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today,” he told the BBC.
The House of Representatives is set to vote this Saturday on the vital military aid bill, which has $61billion (£49billion) earmarked for Kyiv, as well as funding for Israel and the Indo-Pacific.
US President Biden said he “strongly supports” the major package and stated it will “send a message to the world”.
The Ukraine bill includes weapons and other “lethal assistance” for Ukrainian forces – if passed, it will provide the artillery the war-torn country desperately needs to repel Russia’s onslaught.
Shmyhal stated: “If we will not protect… Ukraine will fall…So the global, the global system of security will be destroyed… and all the world will need to find… a new system of security.
“Or, there will be many conflicts, many such kinds of wars, and in the end of the day, it could lead to the Third World War.”
Russia has repeatedly warned of a looming global war as tensions between Moscow and Nato hit breaking point and military officials fear Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine.
Today, G7 foreign ministers also warned that Ukraine risked being defeated by Russia unless it received more air defences.
Ukraine has in recent months grown increasingly exasperated at delays in Western aid – including the EU failing to deliver sufficient munitions on time.
Analysts have repeatedly warned that Ukraine is perilously close to running out of munitions and vital air defence systems – leaving it dangerously vulnerable to Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has been urging for a change in Western strategy towards the war to a more “preventative” means of helping Ukraine.
In the wake of the UK, US and France taking part in shooting down Iran’s huge missile and drone barrage hurtling towards Israel, Zelensky has called for the “same level of protection”.
“By defending Israel, the free world has demonstrated that such unity is not only possible, but also one hundred percent effective,” he argued.
On Monday, he said: “The same is possible in defending Ukraine, which, like Israel, is not a Nato member, from terror.”
AP
Alamy
For over two years, Russia has rained hell down on Ukrainian civilian centres and energy infrastructure – while Ukraine struggles with limited air defences
EPAIn response to his comments, retired tank commander Colonel Hamish de-Bretton Gordon told The Sun: “I agree with Zelensky absolutely.”
The defence expert said it made little sense that British and UK jets shot down drones to prevent civilian casualties in Israel but won’t do the same for Ukraine.
Give us what we need and we will do the rest of the job
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister“This has set a precedent,” he argued. “So the UK and I expect Nato countries should be looking not at how they can support Ukraine.”
“If the West can stop Russia bombing towns and villages and killing civilians in Ukraine, the balance would go back in Ukraine’s favour.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also took the opportunity to call for more Western aid “as soon as possible”.
“We see that when allies act as one in a very coordinated way, not a single missile falls on the targets, reaches targets in Israel,” Kuleba said.
“Everything we are asking from partners, even if you cannot act the way you act in Israel, give us what we need and we will do the rest of the job,” he added.
But the stalling of Western military aid, particularly from the US, has had devastating effects on the battlefield.
On Tuesday, Zelensky announced Russian forces had destroyed the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant because Ukraine ran out of missiles to defend it.
The plant – which is the main power supply to Kyiv and nearby regions – was completely blitzed on April 11 after Russia fired hypersonic missiles at it, and Ukraine could only shoot down half the barrage.
Zelensky fumed: “All of our European neighbours and other partners see Ukraine’s critical need for air defence systems.”
The Ukrainian leader argued that if Russian long-range missile strikes were allowed to continue without a Western response then it “will amount to a global license for terror”.
It comes as Russia said its air defence intercepted more than 50 Ukrainian drones, missiles and “small-sized balloons” – as Ukraine continues in its campaign to hit targets inside Russia.
Yesterday, Ukraine is believed to have launched another blistering attack at Russian-occupied Crimea using US-made long-range missiles.
Dramatic footage showed blinding explosions erupting overnight as Kyiv’s forces destroyed valuable ammunition stores in the blitz.
Meanwhile, Russia is preparing to enlist more contract soldiers into its ranks as it attempts to avoid another unpopular mass call-up.
The Kremlin is attempting to avoid a repeat of September 2022, when mobilisation prompted a huge exodus of fighting aged men.
EPA
The destroyed and burnt out remains of Trypillia Thermal Power which was hit by Russian hypersonic missiles
AP
English (US)