Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pulled no punches with his scathing criticism of the Kremlin.
He says World War III could become a reality if the US doesn’t keep funding his country’s fightback against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine – and called Vladimir Putin a ‘second Hitler’.
Mr Zelensky appeared on American television programme 60 Minutes last night, saying the whole world has to decide whether it wants to stop Putin or not.
The US has already contributed around $70 billion towards the Ukrainian war effort, MailOnline reports.
Mr Zelensky is set to visit the White House and Capitol Hill this week as he tours the US capital during the United Nations General Assembly.
He previously visited Washington in December 2022, which was his first known trip outside Ukraine since Russia invaded in February last year.
Mr Zelensky told the CBS News programme: ‘The whole world [has to] decide whether we want to stop Putin, or whether we want to start the beginning of a world war.
‘We can’t change Putin. Russian society has [lost] the respect of the world.
‘They elected him and re-elected him and raised a second Hitler. They did this.
‘We cannot go back in time. But we can stop it here.
‘We’re defending the values of the whole world. And these are Ukrainian people who are paying the highest price.
‘We are truly fighting for our freedom, we are dying.
‘We are not fiction, we are not a book. We are fighting for real with a nuclear state that threatens to destroy the world.
‘If Ukraine falls, what will happen in ten years? Just think about it.
‘If [the Russians] reach Poland, what’s next? A Third World War?’
The US Congress is divided over whether to provide more cash to Ukraine. Biden is proposing a further $13.1 billion for military aid and $8.5 billion for humanitarian support.
Republican lawmakers have been pushing for more spending cuts – and some want to stop sending money to Ukraine entirely.
Mr Zelensky was asked if he expected US support to continue on the same level as the $70 billion already sent to Ukraine.
He replied: ‘The United States of America [is] supporting Ukraine financially and I’m grateful for this.
‘I just think they’re not supporting only Ukraine. If Ukraine falls, Putin will surely go further.
‘What will the United States of America do when Putin reaches the Baltic states? When he reaches the Polish border? He will.
‘This is a lot of money. We have a lot of gratitude. What else must Ukraine do for everyone to measure our huge gratitude? We are dying in this war.’
When asked how much more money would Ukraine need, Mr Zelensky was unable to specify a figure.
‘I don’t have an answer. I think that he’s going to continue threatening,’ he said.
‘He is waiting for the United States to become less stable. He thinks that’s going to happen during the US election.
‘He will be looking for instability in Europe and the United States of America. He will use the risk of using nuclear weapons to fuel that [instability]. He will keep on threatening.’
But when asked if he could give up ‘any part of Ukraine for peace’, including Crimea, Mr Zelensky simply replied: ‘no’.
He added: ‘This is our territory. A week ago I awarded medals to parents of soldiers who had been killed. There were 24 families of the dead.
‘There was a woman with three children, there were parents, very old and could barely walk who had only had one son.
‘One of the women was pregnant, she was carrying a baby in her arms, and that baby will never see [their father].
‘What should I tell them? That all of them died so we could say “it’s OK Russia, you can take it all”?
‘It’s a difficult job, giving awards to people whose faces show their whole world has collapsed.
‘All I can give them is victory.’
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