These military experts believe World War 3 is now a very real possibility: report

Although President Joe Biden and the United States’ European NATO allies have responded to Russian troops’ horrific invasion of Ukraine with tough economic sanctions, they have yet to intervene militarily. Biden — at least so far — has said that there will be no “boots on the ground” from the U.S. or NATO.

Nonetheless, fears that the Russia/Ukraine conflict will become a broader conflict persist. In an article published by Politico on March 4, Brussels, Belgium-based journalist David M. Herszenhorn lays out some disturbing scenarios in which Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine could escalate into World War 3.

“So far, it is still Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Herszenhorn explains. “But World War III has never been closer. As Russian forces pummel Kyiv and other cities, Western powers have maneuvered extremely carefully to avoid direct conflict with President Vladimir Putin, the man who controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and has shown no qualms in boasting about it.”

Herszenhorn continues, “Ukraine’s western allies are supplying weapons and other material, but have ruled out the idea of imposing a no-fly zone. EU countries are providing air defense systems, but have balked at Ukraine’s request for fighter jets. No country has offered to send troops. And yet, senior western government officials, diplomats and military analysts acknowledge that there is now a grave danger that the United States and other NATO allies could be drawn into the war — at virtually any moment, as the result of any number of scenarios.”

Ukraine borders on seven different countries, ranging from Russia to NATO members that include Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. Ukraine also has a border with Belarus, whose strongman leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is a Putin ally.

A Washington, D.C.-based military analyst, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico that if Russian forces were to attack a NATO member — even by mistake — that could easily cause the conflict to escalate.

Describing some ways in which the Ukraine/Russia conflict could lead to World War 3, the analyst said, “One is a mistake. They lob a missile into Poland. That is not impossible, and then, it very quickly escalates. But we have to respond. We can’t not respond. Or the outcry against the crimes against humanity is so strong that we feel compelled to take what we think is a limited and judicious action…. The enforcement of a no-fly zone means killing Russians. Anything that we do that results in killing Russians puts us into World War III.”

During a March 6 appearance on MSNBC, Adm. James Stavridis — a retired U.S. Navy veteran who served as supreme allied commander for NATO — said he doubted that Putin would knowingly attack a NATO country. But Herszenhorn stresses that some type of accident could cause the conflict to escalate.

“Already, on, Wednesday (March 2), Russian planes violated Swedish air space multiple times,” Herszenhorn notes. “An Estonian cargo ship sunk off the coast of Odessa, apparently after hitting a mine. Any such incident could easily escalate.”

A European official, interviewed anonymously, told Politico, “Russia is ready to use a thermonuclear bomb in Ukraine.” And that official added that the Ukraine/Russia conflict is even more dangerous than the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990s.

“As horrible as that was,” the European official told Politico, “this is worse, with the potential of getting a real European war, or a world war, very quickly. This is just getting deeper and deeper every day.”