Zelenskyy says Putin has started World War III and Ukraine is preventing full-scale escalation
Feb 23rd 2026
In a BBC interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin has effectively begun World War III but Ukraine's resistance is stopping a broader global war, while warning against territorial concessions and costly offensive operations.
- Zelenskyy said he believes Putin has already started World War III but Ukraine is preventing it from turning into a broad global conflict.
- He warned that trying to restore Ukraine's 1991 borders by force now would cost millions of lives.
- Zelenskyy said Ukraine currently lacks enough weapons to carry out large offensive operations to retake all territory.
- He rejected proposals to cede 20 percent of Donetsk under Ukrainian control for a ceasefire as abandoning residents and dividing society.
- Zelenskyy said US security guarantees must be anchored in institutions and congressional decisions so they last for decades.
- His remarks came as Vladimir Putin called for a large scale military build up and wider militarisation in a 23 February address.