Putin Ally Says World is on Brink of WWIII

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan has rejoiced at the attention given by Western powers to the Israel-Hamas war, which she believes is pivoting the global focus away from Ukraine, and said it's about to kick off a third world war in the Middle East.

In one of her latest appearances on air, Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the government-funded television network Russia Today (RT) and a loyal ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, celebrated the war in the Middle East, saying she was grateful for the diversion it was offering.

In a video shared by Russian Media Monitor, an independent project monitoring Russian news media, on YouTube Wednesday, Simonyan can be heard talking about the U.S. and the U.K. "leaving Ukraine" and "having no more time for Ukraine" following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.

Margarita Simonyan
RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan seen during the Valdai Discussion Club's plenary meeting, on October 21, 2021, in Sochi, Russia. Simonyan recently claimed that the world is on the brink of a new global war. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

"This is wonderful, it's beautiful! Watch how the British instructors are leaving Ukraine because they have no more time for Ukraine, just like the Americans and everyone else, because the world is on the brink of World War III," she said, as translated by Russian Media Monitor.

"It's obvious and it has nothing to do with Ukraine! Thank God, it has nothing to do with Mother Russia!," she continued. "We're recording this program just as Iran announced that if Israel starts its land operation in Gaza, Iran will intervene. If Iran intervenes, it won't be pretty."

Simonyan then said that Iran is an "enormous military nation" that is "five minutes away from getting a nuclear bomb" and possesses "many other interesting things." She then went on to belittle and mock the Israeli army for not having been able to stop "1,000 bandits" from infiltrating the country.

"How is this army planning to handle Iran? I wanted to say, 'I'd like to see that,' but no, I would not want to see that," Simonyan said. "I don't wish for anyone to see that, because this is on the brink of WWIII. At this point, no one cares about Ukraine!," she added.

During the same broadcasting, Simonyan addressed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, asking if it was worth fighting for territories she claimed he "couldn't care less about" and for land that "isn't yours."

She compared Zelensky to French emperor Napoleon for sending his troops to die against Russian forces.

During a meeting on Friday last week, Putin also commented on the Israel-Hamas war, saying that Israel has the right to defend itself after an attack that was "unprecedented not only in scale, but also its cruelty." But he also added that it's unacceptable for the Israeli military to "make all [Gaza's] residents suffer, including women and children."

Putin stressed that Russia had ties to both Israel and the Palestinians and could help negotiate a ceasefire or settlement.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more