LONDON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday warned of the possibility of World War III, during an interview with the Saudi-based Al Arabiya and Al-Hadath TV channels.

Zelensky said that the war is currently confined to Ukrainian lands and has not moved to Russia, noting that the Ukrainian army does not carry out military operations against Russian territory.

He also said Ukrainian forces are defending their lands and have no desire to occupy Russian areas.

Zelensky stressed that Kyiv is not afraid of the Russian military presence and the separatists in Moldova, explaining that the Moldovan separatists are untrained and afraid to confront the Ukrainian army.

Zelensky added that satellite images show that Russian ships are besieging Ukrainian ports, pointing out that only ships flying the Russian flag are present in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Zelensky said on Monday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s suggestion that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins showed that Moscow has forgotten, or never learned, the lessons of World War Two.

“I have no words…No one has heard any denial or any justification from Moscow. All we have from there is silence…. this means that the Russian leadership has forgotten all the lessons of World war two,” Zelensky, who is Jewish, said in his nightly video message.

“Or perhaps they have never learned those lessons.”

(With Reuters)