Ukraine's former top general has claimed that World War III has already begun since Russia's allies such as North Korea have become directly involved in its war with Ukraine.
 

"I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun," said Ukraine's former military Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny during a speech at Ukrainska Pravda's UP100 award ceremony. "Because in 2024, Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine. Let's be honest. Already in Ukraine, the Iranian 'Shahedis' are killing civilians absolutely openly, without any shame."

"Missiles of North Korean production are already flying into Ukraine, and they openly declare this. Chinese projectiles are blown up in Ukraine, Chinese parts are used in Russian missiles," Zaluzhny, who is the current Ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain, added. "What has been expected for so long has already begun. But I want to say that God himself is giving a chance, not only to Ukraine, but also to the whole world, so that we still have time to draw the right conclusions."

He concluded: "It is still possible to stop it here, on the territory of Ukraine. But for some reason our partners do not want to understand this. It is obvious that Ukraine already has too many enemies. Ukraine will survive with technology, but it is not clear whether it can win this battle alone."

Zaluzhny had written a column about the Russian-Ukraine war for The Economist last year that echoed these sentiments, which reportedly infuriated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, per Politico. The then-top general compared the state of the situation to the stalemate in World War I. Zelensky then sacked Zaluzhny in February.