War in Ukraine: 'If Ukraine loses, there will be a Third World War', warns prime minister

Denys Shmyhal said a loss for Ukraine would “destroy” the global system of security and lead to a worldwide conflict. His comments came as he called for the US Congress to pass a foreign aid Bill, which has been long-delayed following political opposition.

The House of Representatives is to vote on the Bill on Saturday.

"We need this money yesterday, not tomorrow, not today," he said in an interview with the BBC of the $61 billion (£49bn) funding that would come to Ukraine if the Bill is passed.

"If we will not protect … Ukraine will fall. So the global system of security will be destroyed … and all the world will need to find … a new system of security.

"Or, there will be many conflicts, many such kinds of wars, and in the end of the day, it could lead to the Third World War."

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Russia has previously rejected suggestions that it could invade countries in eastern Europe, such as Poland, which is a member of Nato, despite previous suggestions by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that it may do so.

Under Nato’s Article Five rule, if any member country is attacked, it is counted as an attack on Nato as a whole, meaning the might of 31 nations, including the UK, would stand together against the attacker.

The comments came as Russian air defences downed what authorities described as five Ukrainian balloons overnight, the defence ministry in Moscow has said. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials have provided details about the balloons, which Moscow authorities and media have reported on the battlefield in recent weeks.

Ukraine’s military has been driving innovation since the war began in February 2022, notably adapting drones for wide use against the bigger Kremlin forces. According to Russian news reports, the Ukrainian balloons are equipped with a GPS module and carry explosives.

They reportedly are harder to detect and could carry a bigger payload than more common small drones. It is not clear if they are helium or hot air or another type of balloon. The balloons aren’t able to manoeuvre in the air.

The GPS module is likely used to co-ordinate the release of explosives if the balloon floats over a specific area, with the aim of sowing panic on the ground and distracting Russian air defence assets.

Three Ukrainian balloons and one drone were downed over the Voronezh region, which borders the Moscow-occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine, and two balloons were intercepted in the Belgorod region of Russia next to Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said. As well as the balloons, Russia claimed it intercepted two Ukrainian tactical missiles, 19 rockets fired from multiple rocket launchers and 16 drones during the night.

The defence ministry also said three drones were destroyed over the Rostov region, both in southern Russia.

Balloons brought down by Russian air defences earlier this week in the Lipetsk and Kursk regions carried mortar mines, Russian news reports said.