Chilling World War 3 warning from Ukraine ahead of Congress aid vote

18 April 2024 , 09:41

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal issued a chilling World War 3 warning (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine's prime minister has warned that there will be a "Third World War" if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia, as he urged the US Congress to pass its foreign aid bill for the country.

Denys Shmyhal issued the stark warning ahead of a vote in the US House of Representatives this Saturday which could see $61bn (£49bn) sent to Kyiv. The bill, which also includes aid for Israel and the Indo-Pacific, has been stalled for months in Congress due to opposition from Republican lawmakers including Marjorie Taylor Green, who has long argued against providing any further funding to Ukraine.

But Shmyhal expressed "careful optimism" that US lawmakers would pass the hotly contested this weekend. "We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today," he said.

READ MORE:Volodymyr Zelensky tells Joe Biden he will lack four key weapons without US help

Ukraine's Prime Minister issued the chilling warning ahead of a Congress vote on aid (REUTERS)

"If we will not protect... Ukraine will fall," he added. "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 at the end of the day, it could lead to the Third World War."

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This is not the first time Ukraine has issued such an alarming warning about the consequences of its potential defeat. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that if Russia wins the war against Ukraine, it could next invade Poland, triggering World War Three.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky (R) shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden (Getty Images)

However, President Vladimir Putin last year dismissed the idea that Russia might one day attack Eastern Europe as "complete nonsense". Russia has never attacked a country within NATO, which includes Poland. NATO's collective defence pact means that an attack on one member constitutes an attack on all.

Ukraine is critically dependent on weapon supplies and aid from the US and European allies for its defence against Russia. But infighting between US lawmakers has held up critical aid for Ukraine for months.

Some Republican members of Congress have objected to sending tens of billions of dollars in aid overseas without first passing funds for US-Mexico border security, with Rep Greene leading the charge against the bill and threatening to remove speaker Mike Johnson from his position if he pushes forward to move foreign aid through the House.

Ukraine is growing concerned that they will lose the war with Russia without aid from the West (AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden has slammed lawmakers for stalling the bill, saying in a statement on Wednesday that he would sign the package into law immediately once passed by Congress "to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends".

Months of stalling by Congress has seen Ukraine outmanned and outgunned on the battlefield against Russia, which has a much larger military and an abundance of artillery ammunition. Ukraine has also been forced into retreat in recent months due to ammunition rationing and falling morale. In February, it retreated from Avdiivka, a town near occupied Donetsk that it had held since the conflict began in 2014.

Ukraine is desperately looking to the US for help amid the ongoing conflict with Russia (AFP via Getty Images)

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said that a 10-to-one artillery ammunition advantage for Russia over Ukraine was the reason for the withdrawal, while President Zelensky blamed an "artificial deficit of weapons" as he made urgent appeals for more military aid to avoid a "catastrophic" situation.

Meanwhile, President Biden cited "dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction" as a reason for the retreat. General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of the UK's Joint Forces Command, previously warned that Ukraine could face defeat this year unless it was given the weapons and ammunition it needed to fight against Russia.

"We are seeing Russia batter away at the front line, employing a five-to-one advantage in artillery, ammunition, and a surplus of people," he said. "Ukraine may come to feel it can't win. And when it gets to that point, why will people want to fight and die?"

Martha McHardy