Billionaire George Soros said on Tuesday that the Russian occupation of Ukraine could be the start of World War III and that is why the best way to maintain a free civilization is to defeat the forces of President Vladimir Putin.
Soros, 91, has placed the Ukraine war in the context of a growing war between growing and closed societies, led by China and Russia.
"The invasion could be the beginning of World War III and perhaps our civilization will not survive," Soros said in Davos, according to a text released by his office.
"The best way, and perhaps the only way to preserve our civilization, is to defeat Putin as soon as possible. "This is the most important thing."
Putin, who planned his "special operation" as he calls aggression against Ukraine, to achieve the Kremlin's goals, can now know he was wrong and should be ready to negotiate a ceasefire, Soros said.
"But a ceasefire is unattainable because it cannot be trusted," Soros said.
"The weaker Putin is, the more unpredictable he will become," he said.
The European Union must understand that Putin can reverse the flow of Russian natural gas supplies, which now cover 40 percent of European needs, and that this is "really harmful."
"I can not predict the outcome, but Ukraine certainly has a chance in battle," Soros said.
Russia, the world's largest country, and China, the world's second-largest economy, are key members of a growing group of "closed society" countries in which the individual is dependent on the state.
Following the assessment of US President Joe Biden, who said that the West is at war with autocratic governments, Soros is pessimistic.
"Repressive regimes are now on the rise and open societies are on the defensive. "Today, China and Russia are the biggest threats to an open society," he said.
"Digital technology, especially artificial intelligence, has helped China collect personal data to monitor and control its citizens more aggressively than ever before."
Chinese officials dismiss criticism from outside as neo-colonial opinion and praise the Communist Party, which has lifted 800 million people out of poverty.
The strategy, pursued by Chinese President Xi Jinping for zero COVID infection, failed and brought the city of Shanghai to an "open rebellion threshold," Soros said.
"Xi made a series of wrong moves and lost influence in the Chinese Communist Party to decide on his third term.
"Contrary to popular expectations, Xi Jinping may not win a third term due to mistakes, but even if he does, the Politburo may not open its hand to elect the members of the next Politburo," he said.