Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of now wanting to trigger a war in the Middle East in addition to attacking his country.
"According to the available information – a very clear one – Russia is interested in triggering a war in the Middle East, so that a new source of pain and suffering could undermine world unity, increase discord and contradictions, and thus help Russia destroy freedom in Europe," Zelensky said in a statement shared on the social network X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
In addition, he warned of the danger of a world war in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev.
"The world wars of the past started with local aggressions," Zelensky said, referring to the attacks by Hamas militants on Israel. He did not explain what information he had on Russia being interested in a conflagration in the Middle East.
"We see Moscow's Iranian friends openly supporting those who attacked Israel," said Zelensky, who himself has Jewish roots. He also accused Russian propagandists close to the Kremlin of gloating over the violence against Israel.
"And all of this is a much greater threat than the world currently perceives," the Ukrainian president said.
He has repeatedly accused Iran of supporting Russian terror with drones and other weapons in the wake of Moscow's war against Ukraine.
As in his video message on Sunday, Zelensky again called for a common fight against terror. International law, he said, must be defended against attempts by terrorists to seize power.
"I am grateful to all the leaders and states who are now fully aware of the danger and are ready to work together to keep the situation under control, to keep the obvious sponsors of terror from broader interference," Zelensky said.
Ukraine has been waging a defensive struggle against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost 20 months with Western military aid.
President Zelensky repeatedly stresses that Ukraine is fighting its battle against Russian aggression not only for its own independence, but for freedom across Europe.
The head of state calls for more support from the West for the defensive struggle in order to permanently weaken Russia militarily through defeat.
Earlier on Monday Zelensky reiterated his condemnation of Hamas' large-scale attack on Israel, accusing the militant group of flaunting atrocities committed by its fighters.
"No one can ever forget what the terrorists did in Israel," Zelensky said in a video address to the 69th NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Copenhagen. "Thousands of missiles against peaceful cities, shooting people in cars on the roads - men, women, children - no one was spared.
"The terrorists themselves gave the world footage of their atrocities and were proud of them," the Ukrainian leader, born to Jewish parents, told delegates of the 31-state military alliance.
He also drew a comparison between the atrocities in Israel and those Ukraine has experienced defending itself against the Russian invasion since February 2022, for example, the Kiev suburb of Bucha.
It was the same evil, Zelensky said: "And the only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine."
Meanwhile, Iran could not claim it had nothing to do with events in both Ukraine and Israel, he added, calling on countries around the world to work together and actively to defend human lives and international law.
"We must not give terror a single chance," said Zelensky, who on Sunday had assured Israel of Ukrainian solidarity in the fight against Hamas in a telephone call to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
