Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Russia-Iran military-technological partnership — specifically joint drone production — poses the greatest threat the world has faced in years and could escalate into a third world war. He made the remarks in an interview with Irish blogger Caolan Robertson.
The warning centres on a technological exchange Zelenskyy says Ukrainian intelligence has documented: Russian-manufactured components appearing inside Iranian Shahed drones. The arrangement, he explained, has reversed direction since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when Moscow used drones built with Iranian parts to strike Ukrainian cities. Now, according to Zelenskyy, Tehran is receiving Russian components and deploying comparable technology against targets across the Middle East and at American military bases.
"Yes, we can assess that these are Russian parts, not Iranian," Zelenskyy said. "Right now Iran is attacking other countries of the Middle East and American bases, American soldiers. There are already many casualties."
He drew a direct line from that exchange to a wider strategic risk: "This is the biggest, great risk the world has faced in recent years, because this could be the Third World War, in which we will all be."
The conversation also ranged into Zelenskyy's prior warnings — ones Robertson noted had gone largely unheeded. A year earlier, Zelenskyy had told the White House that failing to stop Russia's actions would eventually bring the consequences "to your land." He was more direct in reflecting on that moment: "I said there would be a Third World War. President [Trump] did not hear me. His people, maybe, heard, but I am not sure they can assess that… Russia began supporting with drones, and will certainly help with missiles."
Zelenskyy also raised the prospect of troop deployments analogous to North Korea's involvement in the war in Ukraine, where, according to his account, Pyongyang sent 10,000 soldiers to Russian territory. "They are on the territory of Russia, but they can come to Ukraine. The same could happen with Iran. Russia can send troops," he said.
On the question of whether the world is ready for such a conflict, Zelenskyy was unambiguous: "The world is not ready."
His assessment was structural rather than rhetorical. Europe, he argued, lacks sufficient preparation — with some exceptions. "The Germans are acting very fast, but it's not enough… to prepare this year for such challenges. The Northern countries… are very technological. I mean Northern Europe, they are ready." The United States military he acknowledged as formidable, but drew a distinction between technological warfare — drones, missiles — and ground combat, where he argued Ukraine has accumulated irreplaceable experience.
"Nobody now has the experience of ground troops like we do… Many human losses… New technologies, new war… And that is why I think the world is not ready for a world war, because a world war is not only drones and missiles. It will involve ground forces, ground offensive operations, and a global number of casualties."
Zelenskyy has returned to this theme before. Weeks earlier, he stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already started a third world war, and that Ukraine's role was to prevent it from becoming a full-scale global conflict. In the summer of 2025, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said continued arms supplies to Ukraine were "the only hope" of avoiding a third world war, arguing Russia could only be stopped through Ukrainian military support. US President Donald Trump, for his part, said on several occasions in 2025 that there would be no third world war over Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy told Robertson that Russian information operations — which he described as running "at their limit" — were an integral part of Moscow's strategic toolkit, allowing it to exert pressure without spending soldiers. "Today this is one of the tools by which you can influence the other side without spending people, by the way, without losses," he said, adding that Russia maintains significant influence through media platforms in Europe, the United States, Israel, Africa, the Middle East, China, and India.
"Some leaders think they have influence in Africa, on the African continent. And they have influence in the Middle East. They have great influence… Russia has great influence in Europe," Zelenskyy said.
