Prior to the long-delayed congressional assistance decision, Ukraine issues a warning of World War III

Prior to the long-delayed congressional assistance decision, Ukraine issues a warning of World War III

The prime minister of Ukraine warned the BBC that if his country loses its war with Russia, there would be a "Third World War" and he was pleading with the US Congress to approve a foreign assistance package that has been sitting on the table for sometime.

Denys Shmyhal voiced "careful optimism" that the highly contentious bill, which includes $61 billion (£49 billion) set aside for Kyiv, will be passed by US senators.

This Saturday, the House of Representatives will vote on the plan.

The Indo-Pacific region and Israel are both included in the proposal's budget.

Russia claims that because the situation on the front lines is "unfavourable" to Kyiv, any more US assistance for Ukraine will have little effect on the conflict.

Speaking about the US security support, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal told the BBC in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, "We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today."

"If we will not protect... Ukraine will fall," he said. Thus, the global security system will be destroyed, and a new security system will need to be found by everyone on the planet.

"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."

Ukraine has already given such dire warnings about the repercussions of a possible loss.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said last year that Russia may attack Poland and start World War Three if it prevailed in the war.

However, Kremlin officials have dismissed these assertions as scare tactics from the West. President Vladimir Putin called claims that Russia would invade Eastern Europe in the future "complete nonsense" last month.

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Lawmakers will shortly decide on the delayed assistance to Ukraine.

Poland is one of the NATO members that Russia has never attacked. According to NATO's collective defense accord, attacking one member also targets the other members.

The question about Republican House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul's recent assertion that members of Prime Minister Shmyhal's own party were being "infected" by Russian propaganda came up during Wednesday's discussion.

Mr. Shmyhal continued: "We should understand that disinformation and propaganda is influencing here in the United States on many people, in European Union on many people, such as in Ukraine."

For months, the Republican party's right wing has obstructed any aid to Ukraine.

A few of those legislators have voiced opposition to transferring tens of billions of dollars in assistance abroad without first authorizing funding for border security between the United States and Mexico.

Furthermore, these conservatives have brushed off as malicious any notion that they may be Kremlin pawns.

As soon as Congress passes the package, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Wednesday that he will sign it into law "to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends."

Ukraine's ability to continue fighting Russia, which has more troops and an abundance of artillery ammunition, depends significantly on weapon supplies from the US and the West.

On the battlefield, months of political gridlock have already had a significant impact.

Ammunition shortages and waning morale have pushed Ukraine to retire after finding itself outnumbered and outgunned.

It withdrew from Avdiivka, a town it had controlled since the war started in 2014 and which was close to seized Donetsk, in February.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who was in charge of the withdrawal, said that retreating after months of warfare was "the only correct solution," citing a 10-to-one artillery ammunition superiority for his adversaries.

President Zelensky issued urgent pleas for more military assistance to prevent a "catastrophic" scenario, blaming the situation on a "artificial deficit of weapons".

President Biden has justified the withdrawal by pointing to "dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction."

The fall of Avdiivka was the worst for Ukraine since its forces left Bakhmut in May 2023.

Both arrived during months of attritional warfare during which Russian forces flooded the battlefield with soldiers and destroyed houses with heavy artillery.

Former UK Joint Forces Command commander General Sir Richard Barrons recently expressed his worry that if Ukraine does not get the weaponry and ammunition it needs to protect its borders, it may lose this year.

"We are seeing Russia batter away at the front line, employing a five-to-one advantage in weaponry, ammunition, and a surplus of people," he said.

Ukraine can start to believe it is unbeatable. And why would people want to fight and lose their lives when it reaches that point?"

Although both sides have lost a great deal of ground in the conflict, Ukraine, unlike Russia, is experiencing a personnel crisis as a result of the rising death toll.

To raise hundreds of thousands of new recruits, the administration decreased the conscription age from 27 to 25 earlier this month.

According to President Zelensky, 31,000 Ukrainian troops have lost their lives since 2022. But according to US authorities, there have been at least 70,000 deaths and many injuries.

According to a BBC investigation, at least 50,000 Russian soldiers have perished. There are thought to have been tens of thousands of injuries.

With agreements to provide North Korea, Iran, and other countries with drones, ammunition, and missiles, as well as around 40% of the country's budget going into defense and security in 2024, Russia has turned its industrial base into a warfare economy.