World War 3 'Has Already Started': Military Experts Explain Why They Believe All-Out Global Conflict Is Underway — as Putin Signs Off Record Russian Defense Budget
Vladimir Putin increases Russian military funding.
Dec. 1 2024, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Military experts claim the threat of World War III is beginning to take shape as the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate.
RadarOnline.com can reveal some analysts believe a larger conflict has already begun in more subtle ways than Western societies experienced in the previous world wars.
Military experts warn World War III may have already begun.
National security expert Mark Toth and former US intelligence officer Col. Jonathan Sweet shed some light on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He claimed: "This third global conflagration doesn't look or feel like what Hollywood envisioned.
"No mushroom clouds or apocalyptic wastelands. Rather, it is war by a thousand cuts, conducted across multi-regional and multi-domain battlefields."
Vladimir Putin's Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine stands at the forefront of kinetic warfare, where Russian advances and constant missile strikes have pushed the region to the brink.
Putin recently revealed a hypersonic ballistic missile and amended nuclear doctrine, which military experts claim signals a "dangerous escalation".
Meanwhile, the Middle East continued to reel from the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In the Indo-Pacific, China's aggression towards Taiwan and the Philippines also raises the threat of a clash in the region.
There are also ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hamas.
Putin recently approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to make up ground in their war with Ukraine.
Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3% this year.
Lawmakers in both Russian parliament houses, the State Duma and Federation Council, had already approved the plans.
Putin 'used John as an example' to claim there was no discrimination against gay people in Russia.
Chief Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the U.K.'s RAF, believes the current state of geopolitics highlights the erosion of the West's strategic advantage.
He feels major powers like Russia and China are strengthening mutual ties and building relations with the likes of North Korea and Iran.
Knighton told attendees during a Q&A at the Freeman Air and Space Institute earlier this month: "We are witnessing a return to great power competition.
"With the rapid advancement of technology and the economic, technical, and warfighting capabilities of other major powers, we no longer have total air supremacy."
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Senior Europe Analyst Adeline Van Houtte believes the ongoing conflicts should be met with deterrence.
While the signs of impending conflict loom large, voices of reason, like Senior Europe Analyst Adeline Van Houtte, offer a measured perspective, highlighting the importance of effective deterrence and prevention measures.
Van Houtte explained: "The revised nuclear use threshold and the Oreshnik (missile) are most likely intended to send a message to the West, but a nuclear escalation remains highly unlikely."
She believes Russia's hybrid attacks through cyber sabotage and disinformation are "tools of intimidation" rather than precursors to outright war.
