WORLD War Three has already started, the former deputy prime minister of Ukraine has warned.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze told The Sun that any hopes of the West negotiating for peace with Russia is naive - and Putin's empire must be cut off at its knees.
Any peace talks with the deranged despot will see him demand to keep parts of Ukraine for himself, she warned.
Ivanna told The Sun that for Ukraine to defeat Putin, Russia needs to be "weakened", "isolated" and "banished".
She said: "For Putin, any kind of negotiation is, 'give me the land'.
"He's not going to give it back. Any kind of peace deal is just to confirm that Ukrainians do not exist.
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"For Putin, it's about subjugating the country by force and redrawing the borders."
The former journalist-turned-politician thinks the "only outcome" from the Ukraine war is for the world to unite and "defeat the Russian federation".
"I really think that this is about an already ongoing Third World War," she warned. It's already the day before yesterday when action had to be taken."
Effective action against Putin, she explained, means breaking down Russia's empire like Nazi Germany after World War Two.
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In 1942, the Allied powers - including the US and Britain - took on Germany after they had started to take over European land during the second World War.
For two years they bombed Nazi Germany and focused efforts on taking back the land Hitler had stolen - pushing Nazi troops from Europe's territory.
Ivanna said negotiating with Putin before he has the opportunity to invade Europe will not work.
Russia needs to be isolated against a strong allied force in the West in the way Germany was more than 80 years ago, she explained.
"I don't see the ground where exactly we can negotiate with Putin on any expectation that Putin would actually honour any of the commitments that he would sign up to," Ivanna said.
"We've seen this already broken so many times specifically towards Ukraine, not to mention in many other cases.
"But the point is that you have to be offered with different scenarios and not to be afraid if Russia, you know, disintegrates."
Winning... means that Russia is weakened, that Russia is isolated, that Russia is banished and we are not there yet
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze
For Ukraine to win, she says, Russia has to be "weakened".
Ivanna said: "It's not exclusively about Ukraine winning - whatever that means. Is it making sure that the aggressor cannot start another war?
"But that means that Russia is weakened, that Russia is isolated, that Russia is banished and we are not there yet."
But Ivanna believes the West and Nato member states are afraid of what a disintegrated Russia would look like.
"I suspect Western policy [is] so worried about the disintegration," she said.
I really think that this is about an already ongoing Third World War... it's already the day before yesterday when the action had to be taken
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze
"Because, of course, that means a whole bunch of nuclear weapons going on all over the place. And how do you divide it up?
"So everybody is very fearful.
"Society can be very stupid or at least, you know, block their ears and not listen to reality, because that's how they've been ingrained over generations."
Ivanna warned that the isolation and destruction of Putin's empire could be the only chance to save Europe from the "already ongoing" World War Three
"Maybe that's the only chance for the heart of Russia to become normal. Maybe that's the only chance," she warned.
Western aid to Ukraine
Ivanna said the situation could have been different for the Ukrainian cause if the provision of tanks or F-16s had been "taken at the beginning of the full scale invasion".
"The country that is a victim, who was attacked, is fighting without air superior. The air cover is so important," she said.
The Ukrainian MP added: "We have seen the increasing numbers of weapons being given to Ukraine by many nations, and we are very grateful for that.
"But many of those discussions, for example, the discussion on tanks, the discussion on F-16s and so on have been taking place for so long.
"And we could have preserved a lot of Ukrainian cities being turned into debris and a lot of Ukrainian lives being saved."
Out resolve is not fading. It's either you have the prospect of living or you cease to exist, you die
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze
In order to push back Russia enough for Ukraine to continue to exist and thrive as a sovereign country, their forces need more help, Ivanna said.
Ukraine is "grateful for every single cent, for every single move, for every single training, for every single piece of munitions, of military equipment that has been provided for Ukraine", she added.
But she said "we also know this is just enough for us to, you know, to hold".
"If we are talking about real victory, if we are talking of the free world, not exclusive Ukrainian victory yes, OK, we can cease to exist," Ivanna said.
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"That will not save the world, you know it won't end Russia's appetite.
But she added fiercely: "Our resolve is not fading. It's either you have the prospect of living or you cease to exist, you die."