Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Monday that World War III is inevitable if China allies with Russia. 

Zelensky’s comments came the same day President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv and two days after U.S. intelligence officials revealed that they believe China is considering sending lethal aid to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. 

“For us, it is important that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war,” the Ukrainian president told German daily Die Welt, according to Reuters. “In fact, I would like it to be on our side. At the moment, however, I don’t think it’s possible.”

“But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here,” Zelensky added. “Because if China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China on Saturday that there would be consequences if the communist country sent lethal aid to support Russia in the war nearing its one-year mark. Blinken has reportedly been concerned about China cozying up to Putin and taking on a larger role in the war. 

“We’ve been watching this very, very closely. And, for the most part, China has been engaged in providing rhetorical, political, diplomatic support to Russia, but we have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine,” Blinken said in a Sunday interview following his meeting with China’s senior foreign policy official. 

Since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, the U.S. has pledged nearly $200 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including weapons, ammunition, long-range missiles, and tanks. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have aided Russia’s military with navigation equipment, jamming technology, and fighter jet parts, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. 

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley estimated in November that 100,000 soldiers had been killed on each side and as many as 40,000 civilians had also died. The Biden administration has been criticized, mostly by Republicans, for sending a “blank check” to Ukraine without an end goal or plan for negotiating peace. 

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a staunch defender of law enforcement, is making a tour around the country to meet and support law enforcement officers.

DeSantis will visit areas of New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, reportedly discussing his own efforts in Florida vis-à-vis law enforcement.

“It’s a law enforcement rally to send a message back to some of our elected officials that the laws that they have enacted in the state of New York are not working  — specifically the bail reform laws — and it’s putting my members, detectives and cops in danger, as well as the public,” Paul DiGiacomo, president of New York City’s Detectives’ Endowment Association, said of Monday’s meeting in Staten Island. “It’s gone too far to the left over the last couple of years.”

“On Staten Island, we are proud to support our law enforcement,” Assemblyman Mike Tannousis, the Staten Island GOP chairman, stated. “I’m happy that our law enforcement community will get some recognition and support.”

At the end of 2022, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the state’s crime rate fell 8% from 2021, reportedly the lowest crime rate in the state in 50 years.

DeSantis’ “Framework for Freedom Budget” includes salary increases for a variety of law enforcement personnel, as it states:

$107.2 million to increase the Department of Corrections’ (FDC) base rate of pay to $23 per hour for specified Correctional Officer, Correctional Probation Officer, and Inspector positions;

$1.8 million to provide a four percent increase to Special Agents and Law Enforcement positions within the Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE);

$6.8 million for special pay adjustments based on salary ranges for all sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, Department of Legal Affairs (DLA), State Attorneys, and State Courts (SCS); and

$8.5 million for an increase for years of service for sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, DLA, State Attorneys, and SCS.

$30 million for a second round of recruitment bonus payments for law enforcement officers who are new to the profession in the state, including those relocating from other states. This initiative will provide bonus payments of $5,000 to new eligible law enforcement officers.

“What Florida has done is establish a blueprint for governance that has produced tangible results while serving as a rebuke to the entrenched elites who have driven our nation into the ground. Florida is proof positive that we, the people are not powerless in the face of these elites,” DeSantis has written.