Polish Prime Minister: 'Most Critical Since WWII'

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put the idea of World War III back into the modern vernacular, putting Europe in a "pre-war" era, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned Friday.

"We are living in the most critical moment since the end of the second World War," Tusk told the BBC, appealing for military aid for Ukraine and warning the next two years are critical.

"I know it sounds devastating, especially to people of the younger generation, but we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era: the pre-war era."

War is "no longer a concept from the past," the former European Council president added. "It's real and it started over two years ago."

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected talk of Russia eventually intending to attack NATO, calling it "complete nonsense." But amid the uptick in airstrikes and drone attacks — including in and around Kyiv — Tusk said Putin "evidently feels the need to justify increasingly violent attacks on civil targets in Ukraine."

The recent attacks were called "missile terror" by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has issued a warning that without further aid the Ukraine forces are going to have to pull back against Russian invaders in the south and east.

Tusk told BBC "literally any scenario is possible" with regard to Europe's security against Russia.

Tusk added a decidedly Donald Trump-like point of view on European defense and NATO, according to BBC: Europe needs to pay up to defend itself if it wants more help from the U.S.

Unlike its European NATO allies, Poland is paying 4% of gross domestic product, while most others have yet to reach the 2% minimum Trump has famously pushed for, according to Tusk.

• Zelenskyy Says Without US Aid, Ukraine Forces Will Have to Retreat
• US Approves $3.5 Billion in Missile Sales to Poland