Zelenskyy: If Russia comes back with a new war, the threat to Europe will be many times greater

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that if the current phase of the war ends without reliable security guarantees for Ukraine, a future Russian attack will be much more dangerous and will threaten all countries that were once part of the Soviet "sphere of influence".

Zelenskyy noted at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the Russian forces fighting against Ukraine are about three times larger than at the beginning of the full-scale war, now comprising 608,000 personnel. In addition, Russia has launched its military-industrial complex at full capacity.

"What would Putin do if there are no clear security guarantees? If he comes back, he will definitely come back with an army 10 times larger than the one he had in early 2022. It is already almost four times larger. And when he comes back with these troops, what will he come back for? For the complete occupation of all countries that were once republics in the Soviet Union – this is No. 1," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy also warned of potential Russian aggression against EU and NATO member states as a means of blackmail.

"He [Putin – ed.] will do what he did with our Crimea – he will enter other EU and NATO countries to stay there for a little while to make certain demands, certain ultimatums to other countries. Someone will be forced to leave NATO – our Baltic friends, Finland, Sweden. He will bring us all back to his world, which lives in his head," Zelenskyy added.

In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that it is time for Europe to take its destiny into its own hands and become stronger and more capable of being as valuable an ally for the United States as the United States is for Europe.

Zelenskyy said that European states should not try to cut costs on their security and indirectly supported the call of new US President Donald Trump to increase NATO allies' defence spending to 5% of GDP.