Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday warned that a Third World War may be right around the corner which he implied would be an escalation of the Russian-Ukraine war.

The 45-year-old Zelensky sat down with 60 Minutes, a famous US show where important world figures, celebrities and more address crucial issues within an hour.

During the interview, Zelensky, who will be visiting the US this week to address the UN General Assembly, discussed many issues including nuclear war threats, the upcoming 2024 US presidential elections and more.

In the interview that aired on Sunday, he said: “If Ukraine falls, what will happen in ten years? Just think about it. If [the Russians] reach Poland, what’s next? A Third World War?

“We’re defending the values of the whole world. And these are Ukrainian people who are paying the highest price. We are truly fighting for our freedom, we are dying. We are not fiction, we are not a book.

“We are fighting for real with a nuclear state that threatens to destroy the world.”

Zelensky ‘grateful’ for funding from US

During the interview, the Ukrainian president also expressed gratitude towards the US citing the roughly $70 billion contribution to Ukraine’s war effort.

Zelesnky said: “The United States of America [is] supporting Ukraine financially and I’m grateful for this. I just think they’re not supporting only Ukraine. If Ukraine falls, Putin will surely go further.

“What will the United States of America do when Putin reaches the Baltic states? When he reaches the Polish border? He will.

“This is a lot of money. We have a lot of gratitude. What else must Ukraine do for everyone to measure our huge gratitude? We are dying in this war.”

While addressing the question whether the funding is enough to end the war Zelensky shared that he did not “have an answer.”

He said: “The whole world [has to] decide whether we want to stop Putin, or whether we want to start the beginning of a world war.

We can’t change Putin. Russian society has [lost] the respect of the world. They elected him and re-elected him and raised a second Hitler. They did this. We cannot go back in time. But we can stop it here.”

Nuclear war threats, 2024 US election

Further on in the interview, Zelensky warned that Putin will utilise the danger of nuclear war to sow unrest in the US and Europe.

“I think that he’s going to continue threatening,” Zelenskyy said. “He is waiting for the United States to become less stable. He thinks that’s going to happen during the US election.

“He will be looking for instability in Europe and the United States of America. He will use the risk of using nuclear weapons to fuel that [instability]. He will keep on threatening.”

Zelensky is also concerned about the uncertainties surrounding the impending US presidential election.

He has been appreciative of President Biden’s support, despite the fact that he claims he hasn’t received some military assistance quickly enough.