Ukraine invasion may be start of ?third world war?, says George Soros

Veteran philanthropist tells World Economic Forum civilisation ‘may not survive’ what is comingRussia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to be the “beginning of the third world war” that could spell the end of civilisation, the veteran philanthropist and former financier George Soros has warned.In a ferocious attack on Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros warned that autocratic regimes were in the ascendant and the global economy was heading for a depression.Soros, who has become a hate figure for the hard right in the US, also heavily criticised the former German chancellor Angela Merkel for cosying up to Moscow and Beijing.With the mood in Davos already downbeat due to the war in Ukraine, Soros ramped up the gloomy rhetoric to new heights.“The invasion may have been the beginning of the third world war and our civilisation may not survive it,” he said.“The invasion of Ukraine didn’t come out of the blue.