Seeking Western support, Zelensky voices risk of World War III
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed disappointment at the weakness of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN - President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced the danger of the Ukraine conflict escalating into World War III, as he pressed his case for support from nations ranging from Germany to the United States in an interview on Jan 28.
“It seems to me that the Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) is aware of this risk,” Mr Zelensky told German state broadcaster ARD, adding that if Russia hit a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation country, it would be “the beginning of the Third World War”.
Asked whether he was disappointed that Germany did not plan to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, he said he was only disappointed Germany had not played “the role it should have played in the first occupation of Ukraine”.
Referring to the weakness of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 that was a precursor for Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, he said it was not just about the German response.
“It’s not just about Olaf Scholz,” he said. “It concerns European leaders and the US.”
In the US, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine has support from across the political divide. “There are individual Republicans who do not support Ukraine, but the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans support Ukraine,” he said.
On whether a second term of Donald Trump in the White House would affect support for his country, he said US policy does not depend on a single person. REUTERS
