Two military experts have explained why they believe World War 3 has already begun despite the lack of tell-tale signs evident in previous global conflicts.
Characteristics of the first two world wars included the likes of conscriptions, widespread invasions, air raid sirens and evacuations, and while some of these are evident once again in the ongoing war in Ukraine, they’re not features that are happening across the globe.
But just because we’re not concealing ourselves in blackouts or seeing tanks on the streets doesn’t necessarily mean global conflict isn’t ongoing, according to national security expert Mark Toth and former US intelligence officer Col. Jonathan Sweet.
War is typically associated with weapons and explosives (Getty Stock Photo)
In an interview with the Mail Online, the two experts pointed to evidence that may suggest a third world war is underway – one that doesn’t involve ‘mushroom clouds or apocalyptic wastelands’, but instead is a ‘war by a thousand cuts, conducted across multi-regional and multi-domain battlefields’.
Alongside the standard weapons and explosives often associated with wars, such as the type being used in Ukraine, Toth and Sweet claimed conflict today is also fought through the likes of cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage and economic manipulation.
The experts referenced Russia and its president Vladimir Putin as examples for this kind of approach, pointing not only to the invasion of Ukraine, but to espionage in Europe, coups in Africa, and a spread of misinformation across the globe.
Sweet and Toth described these methods as ‘grey zone’ warfare, saying: “Putin’s ability to conduct hybrid warfare is arguably his greatest strength.”
They continued: “To fully understand the scope of Russia’s vast disinformation campaign, just look at the US, UK, and Africa. Russian troll and bot farms use memes and fake fact-check accounts to demonise the West and distract from Russian paramilitaries overthrowing democracies.
“Russian troll and bot farms have infiltrated online spaces with cartoons, memes, and fake fact-check accounts to disseminate discord and erode confidence in Western governments.”
Experts pointed to Vladimir Putin’s approach to conflict (Contributor/Getty Images)
Concerns about a battle for power have also been raised by Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, of the British Royal Air Force, who spoke in a Q&A at the Freeman Air and Space Institute earlier this month.
“We are witnessing a return to great power competition,” Knighton said at the event.
“With the rapid advancement of technology and the economic, technical, and warfighting capabilities of other major powers, we no longer have total air supremacy,” he continued.
However, while Toth and Sweet are firm in their belief that the ongoing conflict is ‘already a world war’, other experts aren’t quite so convinced.
Adeline Van Houtte, Senior Europe Analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the Mail that while the risk of escalation has grown, World War 3 is not actually underway.
She said: “The revised nuclear use threshold and the Oreshnik [missile] are most likely intended to send a message to the West, but a nuclear escalation remains highly unlikely.”
Conversation2 Comments
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I think it’s irresponsible to call a world war already underway. Was the Cold War another world war? It bears many similarities to the current east-west conflict, the espionage, the proxy conflicts, the manipulation tactics between one country and the other. Calling it a world war brings extra bagg…
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Comment rejected lol. Goodbye free speech
Featured Image Credit: John Moore/Getty Images / BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Politics
Emily Brown
First trailer drops for new Transformers movie starring Chris Hemsworth but it’s not what people expect
Hemsworth stars alongside Brian Tyree Henry in the unexpected origin story
The first trailer for Transformers One has been released.
The eighth instalment of the Transformers film series is set to drop in theaters on 20 September later this year.
However, the trailer has thrown fans of the franchise off balance.
Prepare for a bit of a shake up:
Written by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, Transformers One was directed by Josh Cooley – who directed Toy Story 4.
Described as an ‘origin story,’ Transformers One is set on the planet Cybertron and will centre on the relationship between Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) and Optimus Prime (Hemsworth).
And who should pop up at the start of the trailer but the two lead actors themselves.
The trailer has suprised some Transformers fans (Paramount Pictures)
The trailer – shared by Transformers’ official social media platforms earlier today (April 18) – begins with lead cast members Hemsworth and Henry sat down in some snazzy chairs throwing some banter back and forth before announcing the first insight into the movie.
The clip then dives into the trailer, the two actors’ characters of Optimus Prime and Megatron sat similarly in chairs in the movie before getting properly stuck into the action.
Cue tense music, comedic one liners, multiple explosions and what looks to be a fun-filled origin story.
However, some Transformers fans have been left slightly taken aback.
Some fans of the franchise have been left a bit confused (Paramount Pictures)
One X user wrote: “It’s… it’s not what I expected… I expected a serious Animated movie… but I’ll give it a chance.”
“I was hoping for a spiderverse style or something different. Also a tone similar to the war for cybertron games but I mean it’s a kids movie so I get it,” another added.
A third wrote: “Yeah, I was expecting a serious tone like the games, and or something like [how] spiderverse did it.”
“On one hand, zero human plot, which I like. On the other a bit too… childish? Still, I see where this is going, Megatron betrays Optimus they were like brothers, the conflict starts, maybe three movies? I am in, this sounds fun, just hope it gets a bit more serious,” and a fourth echoed.
However, others were more convinced.
Some have been left surprised by the trailer (Paramount Pictures)
A user said: “It’ll take a little time to adjust to not hearing Peter Cullen’s as Optimus. But this looks like a pretty solid family watch.”
“Animation style NICE,” a second wrote.
And a final resolved: “Not what I was expecting but I’m rolling… no pun intended.”
So, what do you think?
Featured Image Credit: Paramount
Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment, Chris Hemsworth, Twitter, Social Media
Poppy Bilderbeck
Zelenskyy Sends Chilling Warning To West About ‘World War 3’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called out the West for simply waiting ‘for World War Three’ to start.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called out the West for simply waiting ‘for World War Three’ to start in its response to Russian troops targeting Mariupol.
Officials of the southern port city stated yesterday, March 9, that several bombs were dropped on a children’s hospital, destroying it and leaving ‘children […] under the wreckage,’ according to Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian government has said 1,170 civilians have been killed the city, which has seen residents left without food, water and electricity as well as at risk of shelling as a result of being surrounded by Russian troops for days.
The Ukrainian president has since spoken out, appealing once again to NATO to enforce a no-fly zone above the country, warning the West that nations must get involved before it’s ‘too late’ and ‘millions’ die.
Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.
Zelenskyy, who has previously called out Europe for insufficient action, has accused NATO of having the same indecisiveness against the Russians, or who he calls ‘the Nazis’, Sky News reports.
He stated, ‘You can’t decide to close or not to close… you can’t decide.
‘If you are united against the Nazis and this terror, you have to close. Don’t wait for me ask you several times, a million times. Close the sky. Close the sky and stop the bombing.’
Addressing NATO’s reservations about enforcing a no-fly zone in case it escalated the conflict into a ‘fully fledged war in Europe,’ Zelenskyy questioned, ‘Worse for whom? For our families? No… For them..? Who knows?’
‘Nobody knows. But we know that exactly that now is very bad. And in future it will be too late. Believe me, if it’s prolonged this way, you will see… they will close the sky but we will lose millions of people,’ he said. ‘The third world war will start and only then you will make a no-fly zone – but it will be too late.’
A sense of what’s happening in Mariupol: – At least 1,170 civilians have been killed there since the start of the invasion – A mass grave has been dug because normal burials have become impossible (Local authorities)
Zelenskyy warned that if NATO does not act soon, it will be left having to tell Ukrainians who have lost children, ‘Sorry we didn’t do it yesterday, one week ago. We didn’t push Putin, we didn’t speak with him a lot, we didn’t find the dialogue with him. We did nothing and it’s true, yesterday the world did nothing… I’m sorry, but it’s true’.
Ukrainian MP, Dmytro Gurin, echoed the same message as Zelenskyy, ‘Is the blood of the Ukrainian people red enough? Putin won’t stop with Ukraine, and the West could end up with a war on its territory too. You now have to choose.
Alamy
‘You will ask in two years when they are bombing infrastructure in the middle of Europe – why didn’t you close the sky?’
Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainians are being made to ‘feel like animals,’ Mail Online reports, conluding that Putin is ‘going directly to hell,’ and that while Russian forces ‘can occupy [Ukraine]’, they ‘definitely can’t win’.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Featured Image Credit: Sky News/Alamy
Topics: Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin
Poppy Bilderbeck
Russian Champion Tank Player Killed In Ukraine War
Bato Basanov, 25, became known as a world champion in an international tank warfare competition
A 25-year-old Russian has died fighting in Ukraine after becoming a world champion in an international tank warfare competition.
Bato Basanov, from Buryatia, was among the thousands of men to be sent across the border into Ukraine following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of war in February.
He had previously found success in the tank biathlon competition, performing with a team last year in war games in front of defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the army general staff Valery Gerasimov.
East2West
The tank biathlon is one of the most famous parts of the International Army Games organised every year by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, with the team that takes part chosen from local participants.
According to Auto Evolution, the first stage of the 2021 competition challenged Russian tanks to overcome both natural and man-made obstacles in a race which also included firing sections, penalty circles and areas where the crews have to demonstrate their skills in technical and medical training.
Basanov made it through the competition and was hailed last year for ‘glorifying Russia by becoming a world champion in tank biathlon as part of his team’.
He shot at the event without missing a single target at speeds of up to 50mph at the Alabino training ground in Moscow region, but died recently when his tank was hit during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
East2West
A report from Volya Media stated: “The death of Bato Basanov is grim confirmation that tank biathlon and real war are completely different things.”
Basanov acted a gunner of the first company of the tank battalion of the 37th separate guards motorised rifle brigade of the Russian Air Defence Forces. His body took seven weeks to be retrieved following his death.
In a joint statement, the 25-year-old’s friends and family said: “Bato was an open, responsive, very sociable man, a faithful comrade and friend, who was always ready to come to the rescue.
“Cheerful, smiling and sincere, Bato has always been the pride of our family, a kind, honest, much-loved son.”
The exact number of Russian soldiers lost in the war remains unconfirmed, but it is believed to be in the tens of thousands.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Featured Image Credit: East2West News
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Politics
Emily Brown
Russia Attacks Ukraine As Putin ‘Declares War’
Russia has launched a ‘full-scale invasion’ of Ukraine, according to reports
Russia has launched a ‘full-scale invasion’ of Ukraine, according to reports.
A Ukrainian government official has spoken of cruise missile strikes earlier this morning on Kyiv, and says that there have been troop movements in the country’s southern port city of Odessa.
They also say that Russian army units have been crossing the border in Kharkiv.
Soldiers of the National Guard Of Ukraine practice military exercises (Alamy)
Local media in Ukraine report that Ukraine’s Interior Ministry says missile strikes have attacked Ukraine’s military missile command centres and military headquarters in Kyiv.
Russia’s defence ministry, however, denies attacking Ukrainian cities, claiming it is targeting military infrastructure, air defence and air forces with ‘high-precision weapons’.
As per the BBC, ‘early signs according to witnesses and government officials are that this is something quite large-scale’.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking his national security and defence council to declare martial law.
