Russian expert: World War III has begun

Fyodor Lukyanov believes that a “nasty” but “manageable” world order is breaking down and there currently appears to be no mechanism to resolve conflicts, including the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hamas.

Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) and editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine on global issues, made the remarks in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Recently, the world has seen old conflicts flare up again, Lukyanov said, citing as examples the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh (between Armenia and Azerbaijan), the Russia-Ukraine conflict and new escalations in the Middle East.

Lukyanov, who is also the research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, said that the series of ongoing conflicts is essentially a new World War, which looks significantly different from the two global conflicts of the 20th century. There is a series of conflicts affecting the entire world. In fact, World War III is already underway.

“Instinctively, we expect the war to start like the Great War or (World War II), but such wars are probably not going to happen again – after all, nuclear weapons are still holding many back,” the expert said.

He also warned that the escalation in the Middle East was not the last conflict to come, with more hostilities expected to erupt around the world soon – and no one seems to be able to stop them at the moment.

“The international order is breaking down. It is an unpleasant development, based on the fear of mutual destruction, but it is manageable. Wars in the Middle East have broken out before, but the Soviet Union and the United States intervened and quelled them until the next conflict broke out. But now there is not even a mechanism for temporary settlement,” Lukyanov worries.