Wake up and smell the cordite. We are at war

In an interview with the BBC on the weekend, marking four years since his country was invaded, Zelenskyy told Jeremy Bowen Putin had already started World War III and that the Russian dictator would not stop at Ukraine.

It's easy to understand the Ukrainian president's narrative, even if it seems, from our distant perspective, a little overblown. He is, after all, in the fight of his life and desperate for continued support from the rest of the world. Even if it's not World War III as we might have imagined it, the conflict has been globalised.

"North Korean troops on the ground. North Korean troops in Ukraine," Ukraine's ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko told reporters in Canberra on Monday. "Can you even imagine that North Korean troops are fighting in Ukraine? How far is North Korea from you here?"

Myroshnychenko also claimed the Chinese and North Korean militaries were being trained to use Russia's advanced weapons systems, which might one day be turned on Australia.

North Koreans fighting in Ukraine is startling enough but Al Jazeera's website reports that more than 1000 Kenyans have also been recruited to fight on Russia's behalf. Citing a report released by Kenya's National Intelligence Service, Al Jazeera says there are 89 Kenyans on the front line, 39 in hospital and 28 missing in action. Many of these Kenyans were lured to Russia with job offers, only to discover they'd actually signed up for Russian military service.

In November, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said nationals from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia in Ukraine. South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa said 17 of its citizens were fighting in Ukraine after being lured there with offers of lucrative employment.

There's an echo from history in this. Among the first Wehrmacht troops captured in the 1944 Normandy invasion were Koreans, who had been pressed into military service with the Japanese, captured by the Soviets, then "liberated" by the Germans, who also forced them into military service.

As well as troops, the supply of weapons has also been globalised. Ukraine claims almost 40,000 Iranian Shahed drones were launched at it by Russia in 2025. With technical help from its Persian ally, Russia is now thought to be manufacturing 1000 drones a day based on the Sahed design.

According to former assistant director of the CIA for weapons and counterproliferation Amy McAuliffe, many of the components needed to get the drones to their targets - the engines, fuel pumps, GPS and semiconductors - get around international sanctions by being sourced in places like India and the UAE via Iran's brokerage network.

"I believe use of Iranian technology has helped Russia develop a fleet of sophisticated drones able to erode Ukrainian air defenses and strain the country's resolve," she wrote in article published by The Conversation in January.

Of course, Ukraine's allies have also globalised the conflict by supplying weapons and ordnance, including Australian Bushmasters and Abrams tanks. At least eight Australians are believed to have been killed fighting for Ukraine since 2022.

There are also opaque signs of the conflict leaching out of the conflict zones, so-called "grey zone" attacks across Europe, with Russia suspected but not confirmed as the culprit. These have ranged from acts of sabotage to mysterious drone overflights of western European airports, arson and kidnappings.

In December, the new chief of Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6, Blaise Metreweli, warned that the front line was everywhere and that "Russia is testing us in the grey zone with tactics that are just below the threshold of war".

Fingers crossed that threshold isn't crossed because if it is Zelenskyy's grim assessment might ring horribly true.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Has World War III started? Is Australia doing enough to assist Ukraine? Should Ukraine accept Russia's demand that it cede territory? Would that make it vulnerable to future aggression? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor must face the full force of the law, the prime minister says, as Australia moves to block him from ever becoming king after his arrest on suspicion of public misconduct.

- As more older Australians take to the water, the number drowning in waterways, pools and beaches has hit a record high. Royal Life Saving Australia research shows 115 people aged over 65 drowned across the nation in 2024/25.

- Federal spending on a long-sought high-speed rail project is on track to reach almost $700 million before the first shovel hits the ground.

THEY SAID IT: ""We will never stoop to the tactics of our opponents. But we must seek to outplay them in every domain, in every way." Blaise Metreweli, MI6 chief

YOU SAID IT: It's tempting to write off the monarchy after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's arrest. Until you compare and contrast the responses of King Charles and Donald Trump to the Epstein scandal.

Maggie thinks a hereditary head of state on the other side of the world is ridiculous but "Replace it with what? An elected head of state? Elections equal politics, campaigns, promises, personalities. The head of state has to be the final back-stop, the one who can point to a party leader and ask him/her to form a government, the one who can pronounce a government legitimate or not. That impartial head of state is crucial. So if we kick out Charlie and crew, we need to replace them with a selection process that can by-pass politics. A election by both houses of Parliament? Worth considering."

John writes: "I am committed to the idea that Australia should become a republic; however recent events overseas have indicated that the decision requires a huge amount of effort and thought to make sure that we get it right. King Charles backing of the 'laws of the land' shows that the monarchy can work in the modern world when it doesn't place itself above the law. Events in other republics where presidents puts themselves above the 'laws of the land' shows the danger of having a republican president who considers themselves to be above the law and not to be held accountable for their actions."

"I used to think we should be a Republic but have changed my mind over time and believe we are better served staying as we are," writes Margaret. "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Francis writes: "Many counties (Ireland, Israel, Italy and India) have a non-executive head of state who is not a hereditary monarch. It can be argued that systems with a non-executive head of state are preferable for many reasons, the most significant being that in such systems, the head of executive government, the prime minister, is directly accountable to the parliament, which the US President, for example, is not. This is a significant constraint on unfettered executive government and is much to be preferred. Sadly too many people thing that the choice is either a US style presidency or an English style monarchy, and that is not the case."

"Abuse of their presidential powers has been a problem for the US ever since its constitution was drafted," writes Arthur. "The difference with Trump is that he has taken the abuse of his presidential dictatorship to new heights. The British started reducing the power of the monarch in the 11th century. The American people need to take similar action. Abolition of executive orders might be a good start."

Old Donald writes: "The fundamental problem for us is that they're all upper class poms and mainly with unearned heads deeply and permanently established in the public trough. Chuck and Cam are probably nice people but they are not our leaders, symbolic or otherwise. Class will probably always exist in civilised countries (it's just the way the world turns) but to have our ultimate authority living on a small island half the world away is quite ridiculous. And the idea that we couldn't do better than that is really, well, laughable."

"King Charles' comments over Andrew's arrest were dignified and what you would hope to hear from a ruler, whatever his private thoughts about the downfall of his brother may be," writes Helen. "I am still in favour of a republic, not that I expect to see it in my lifetime. It all depends on the selection of the head of state. Chosen like the current Governors General, and we are okay. Elected like the American system and it's anyone's guess what we would get."