Russia must be ready for World War III within three years, the pro-Putin parliamentarian declares

Russia must be ready for World War III within three years, a pro-Putin lawmaker has warned, in the latest serious threat to Ukraine’s Western allies.

Aleksey Zhuravlyov, deputy head of Russia’s parliamentary defense committee, insisted that while Russia has enough volunteers to fight, the country must still start preparing its male population for a major confrontation with the West in 2028-2029 .

“Europe explains to us that (the country and its allies) will be ready to fight against Russia in 2028-2029,” he assessed. “Here it is necessary to prepare the male population and, of course, defend the motherland. We need to talk about this and not be ashamed of it.”

Responding to the comments, Yuri Shvytkin, Deputy Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, firmly agreed with the assessment and told Ridus that ‘every Russian must understand that in case of external aggression he must take up arms and defend the Motherland.’

He did not shy away from calling for immediate mobilization, suggesting that the threat was not yet an urgent issue.

Belligerent nationalist politician Zhuravlyov, 62, a member of parliament for the nationalist so-called Liberal Democratic Party and TV propagandist, is under Western sanctions for his support of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has significantly expanded its military over the past 12 months, a move blocked by Ukraine and its Western allies.

Russia managed to increase the size of its military to 1.5 million active soldiers by September 2024, making it the second largest in the world, according to Russian media.

But the war in Ukraine has taken a huge toll on Russian manpower.

In a press release published on January 2, 2025, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense estimated that Russia had suffered 430,790 casualties – dead and wounded – in 2024.

In November, the WSJ reported that Russia had lost about 200,000 soldiers to the conflict so far.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has called on Ukraine to reduce conscription from 25 to 18 years in November to increase the size of the military and continue the fight against Russia.

Europe has also responded to the perceived growing threat at its border by calling in more of its own troops.

A Der Spiegel report from the summer said as many as 800,000 NATO soldiers from the security bloc could be hosted by Germany as they travel to posts further east.

Military leaders in Britain were also last year planning the largest mass mobilization of reservists in two decades, a move intended to test the “readiness to deploy” of more than 10,000 troops.

Poland has invested massively in its military since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year to offer military training programs for civilians to maximize combat readiness.

Putin has followed through on his parliamentarian’s recurring threats of impending Armageddon.

The Russian dictator said in late December that a global conflict could break out if the West “continues to escalate the situation.”

“You know, there’s no need to scare anyone,” he told a state television reporter, with a caveat, “there are many dangers – they are increasing.”

“And we see what our enemy is doing today that is escalating the situation. If they want to, let them live badly, let them escalate further.

“We will always respond to any challenge, always,” he said.

Putin glossed over his role in the escalating conflict in Europe following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead boasting of his personal role in the “historic” development of the hypersonic Oreshnik missile.

In Europe, countries have begun the difficult process of preparing their citizens for the possibility of a long war.

Finland has reminded its citizens of their ‘national defense obligation’, while Sweden has drawn up a detailed guide on how to seek shelter and what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.

Their instruction manuals follow similar advice from their neighbors Norway and Denmark, both of which include checklists for food and medicine supplies that citizens should have on hand.

More than five million Swedish households receive bright yellow booklets entitled ‘If there is a crisis or war’.

Meanwhile, the Finnish government has published a digital booklet to prepare citizens for ‘incidents and crises’.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief of Britain’s defense staff, warned in November that Britain simply does not have “some of the civilian aspects or planning aspects” that some other NATO allies “have as part of their traditions.”

“We are having these conversations to learn from our colleagues and to see what might be suitable for ourselves,” he told an audience of representatives from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania.

While the UK government provides advice on how to deal with emergencies, many Cold War shelters and civil protection facilities have now been decommissioned.