Russian victory would lead to 'third world war,' Ukrainian PM warns

Two weeks after the United States passed its long-awaited foreign aid bill, Ukraine's prime minister is warning that if his country falls to Russia, there will be a "third world war."

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Rosemary Barton Live Friday that Russia likely will target Poland and Baltic countries if Ukraine loses the conflict.

Shmyhal's comments come a day after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a Chatham House event that a Russian victory in Ukraine "would be inaugurating a whole era of the decline of democracy, and the triumph of authoritarian regimes."

Ottawa set aside$320 million in the recent budget for "the provision of lethal and non-lethal military aid" to Ukraine this year — part of a bilateral security assistance package signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv in February.

C-19, the budget implementation bill, received royal assent in June 2022, allowing for the seizure and sale of assets owned by individuals and entities on Canada's sanctions list, including wealthy Russian oligarchs and government officials.

Asked whether Ukraine would welcome additional troops from NATO countries — something French President Emmanuel Macron suggested in a recent interview with The Economist — Shmyhal said reinforcements certainly would help push back the Russians.