CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A Ukrainian Parliament member says Vladimir Putin is “the Hitler of our time,” and warns the West’s fears of igniting World War III may ultimately lead to the conflict anyway.
“If the West does not try to appease the tyrant, if the West responds properly, and helps us beat Putin, we can actually avoid a full scale World War III,” Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said on “The Donlon Report.”
It comes as the U.S. has agreed to provide $800 million more in aid, including some military equipment Ukraine has asked for against Russia, but not its main request: a no-fly zone.
Sovsun criticized the additional aid as coming later than it should have. Wednesday, Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering.
“Hearing that the world will stand with Ukraine doesn’t help,” Sovsun said. “If we had gotten those jets from Poland that we have been speaking about a week ago, that strike that hit the theatre in Mariupol could have been avoided. Those lives could have been saved if the West reacted sooner.”
While Russian authorities deny claims of targeting civilians, the U.S. Senate has voted unanimously to condemn Putin as a war criminal, calling on the International Criminal Court at The Hague to probe Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Some experts believe the aid the U.S. announced, including sending javelins, stingers and so-called switchblade “kamikaze” drones could be useful.
The drones can travel miles behind enemy lines, strike critical targets and go after armored vehicles.
The objective of sending this type of equipment is to help Ukraine can take control of their own skies, but Ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is skeptical it is enough.
“There’s all sorts of different types of targets that these can go to and there are two different variants that could destroy just about anything that the Russians have on the ground, but it does not get anywhere near this capability of establishing a no-fly zone,” Vindman said on “The Donlon Report.”
He believes Ukraine could “neutralize Russia’s military” with enough American help. Sovsun agrees, which is why sentiments that the world stands with Ukraine ring hollow for her.
“I’m sorry, I’m not feeling that,” she said. “I’m feeling the pain of the people who are now under what is left of the theater.”