A prominent Russian propagandist made an alarming prediction on state television last week – that World War 3 would soon erupt in the Middle East, distracting the West from the conflict in Ukraine.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-controlled media outlet RT, claimed during a broadcast on Russia-1 that a new world war stemming from the Israel-Hamas tensions was inevitable. She expressed hope that such a conflict would shift attention away from Russia’s floundering invasion of Ukraine.
A world war will definitely break out and it will break out in the Middle East. It will fire up for sure, there’s no way around it,” Simonyan declared. However tragic it is that there’ll be a war and casualties, the good news in it for us is that Western powers will be distracted with that, and even though they won’t completely leave us alone, they will kind of forget about us.
This warmongering rhetoric echoes a pattern of World War 3 fearmongering common in Russian state media since the Ukraine invasion began. Various hosts and pundits have baselessly claimed the US and NATO allies are intentionally provoking global conflict.
For example, Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent personality on state TV, recently alleged that “Satanic NATO” started the war in Ukraine by attacking Russia first. Other guests have accused the West of coordinating with Ukraine to instigate WW3.
Independent analysts see these World War 3 narratives as propaganda aimed at justifying Russia’s aggression and preparing the public for escalation.
Russian state media is setting the scene for the Kremlin to potentially broaden the Ukraine war under the guise of a global conflict between Russia and the collective West,” notes Samantha Lewis, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
By spinning Ukraine as a front in a larger US-Russia clash, the Kremlin can continue rallying citizens behind the flailing invasion. Survival-oriented war rhetoric also lets Putin expand hostile actions without public backlash.
This is about priming audiences that Moscow’s attacks aren’t just limited to Ukraine but rather a defensive struggle against US hegemony,” Lewis adds. “It provides pretext for escalation.”
The predictions of a Middle East trigger for WW3 specifically allow Russia to blame global instability on other conflicts instead of its own actions. Simonyan hinted that a regional war involving Israel and Iran would divert the West from opposing Russia’s Ukraine campaign.
Other Russian commentators have highlighted crises like Israel-Hamas and China-Taiwan as broader threats. These narratives downplay Russia’s role in geopolitical tensions.
“Russian state media is spinning its own web of deception,” notes Chris Miller, associate director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Any brewing conflicts are cynically exploited to make Russia appear like a bystander rather than an instigator.
While a new world war remains unlikely, experts say the rhetorically escalation raises concerns about Putin’s next moves in Ukraine. The Kremlin could “false flag” attacks then use distorted WW3 narratives to justify disproportionate retaliation.
Ongoing Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians already demonstrate a disregard for humanitarian laws and ethics. And Putin’s recent suspension of the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the US signals tensions may rise further.
“I don’t think these apocalyptic WW3 scenarios are realistic,” Miller says. But we can’t ignore that Russian leadership is laying the propaganda groundwork for potentially catastrophic escalation in Ukraine under a ‘justified self-defense’ pretext.
For now, the West must continue its calibrated support for Ukraine while actively working to counter Kremlin warmongering. Deescalating from the brink of unthinkable global conflict will require strategic restraint and diplomacy from all sides.
The inflammatory World War 3 rhetoric from Russian state media underscores that a peaceful resolution remains fraught. But responsible leaders can still steer away from Doomsday scenarios – if cool heads prevail.
