Sarah Morra (12) | Staff Reporter
Each year, it seems as though fear is instated within many, with inflammatory speculations of the commencement of world war three. Rumors begin to spread, comments are made, all based on a supposed cold war we are in the midst of. The center of these concerns is based around the Russia-Ukraine war — but how exactly are the tensions building, what are the factors that have lead to this, and what does this entail?
Many news sources and social media outlets jump to report that the end is near and that the next world war is among us. However, first we need to identify what is triggering these claims and how they can be addressed. The long winded war between Russia and Ukraine has had people on the edge of their seats for years now, the scale of which has been escalating.
Despite Russia seemingly not having the resources to sustain further escalation, they have claimed they are not afraid to shy away from engaging in large scale warfare “if need be.” Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine, and Iranians are said to be killing Ukrainian citizens. Furthermore, North Korean and Chinese weaponry are “flying into Ukraine.” Despite Ukraine having adequate technology, they clearly have many enemies and may need assistance with this war. This is where people have begun to speculate: Will foreign engagement spark the third world war?
In August 2024, Russia warned the United States of allowing Ukraine to launch Western missiles into Russia; prior, in June 2024, Russia officially declared the United States as an enemy state. Ukraine attacked the western region of Russia and claimed some territory — it was said to be the largest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two. Despite Putin’s disinterest in war with NATO, he’s exclaimed the possibility of war with the world’s major nuclear powers since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
With the threat of larger scale warfare, many others believe we are now in a second Cold War — Niall Ferguson, a British historian, believes that we are in a second Cold War and that Western allies are not doing enough for Ukraine and they will lose the war if further support is not given. A major difference Ferguson noted is that within this conceptual Cold War the number one power is no longer Russia, it is China, as well as the fact that in the Cold War, wars happened in Asia, however now the wars are happening in Europe.
Ferguson claims that because Russia is much larger and its allies (China, Iran, and North Korea) are supplying them with military hardware, Ukraine is being “outmanned and outgunned.” Western allies are not supporting Ukraine as much as some believe they should be, and there are a few reasons behind this, one of the main reasons being that the U.S. government has been effectively intimidated by Russia’s threats of nuclear warfare and in turn has not responded.
On the other hand, NATO condemns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Ukraine being a close partner to NATO, NATO and it’s allies continue to provide Ukraine with great support. However, their actions are defensive and designed to prevent further conflict; there is a no fly zone and they are not deploying combat troops to Ukraine as this would bring them into direct conflict with Russia, thereby significantly escalating the war.
In the midst of this steady conflict, with the election of Donald Trump, there is also the question of how such circumstances will change once the Trump administration returns to America. He has claimed on several occasions that he would stop both the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the conflict between Israel and Palestine — how he is planning to accomplish this is beyond us at this time.
Though some of the increased world war three rhetoric may be attributed to current moves of the Biden-Harris administration as Ukrainian officials have been pleading to let them use the U.S. supplied long-range ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. Biden then authorizing their use caused an uproar in concern and talk of World War Three online.
While the threat of nuclear warfare and a third world war is circulating throughout the media, it is integral that we remember that this rhetoric and ideas have existed for decades. Speculation and fear-mongering continue to rule as helpless citizens look for answers amidst a world of distorted reality. We must remain objective, rational, and patient for the sake of our clarity of mind and ability to conceptualize the world around us.
