Putin, The Next Hitler; Will Invade Other Countries After Ukraine: Billionaire

Russian President Vladimir Putin could be the next Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader who sparked World War II after invading Poland in 1939, according to an Egyptian billionaire.

Speaking with CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Wednesday, Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO of Orascom Investment Holding, slammed French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for other nations to stop humiliating Putin for his invasion of Ukraine and instead leave the door open for better diplomatic relations.

“Contrary to what Mr. Macron is saying, we shouldn’t care about his feelings, to hurt his feelings. We should be winning this war, because it’s another Hitler in the making,” Sawiris said.

The Egyptian billionaire also warned that Putin will likely plan to take over Poland and other nations should he win the war in Ukraine.

“It’s the same story in the Second World War. It started like that, we appeased Hitler by giving him a piece of Czechoslovakia. So then he walks into Poland, he occupies the whole thing, and he continues and he continues — it’s not going to stop there.”

Sawiris’ remarks come after Polish President Andrzej Duda last week blasted the leaders of France and Germany for holding one-on-one phone conversations with Putin amid the war, arguing that it only legitimizes the crimes Russian troops committed in Ukraine. He also said that no world leader urged Hitler to “save face” during World War II.

"Did anyone talk to Adolf Hitler like that during WWII? Did someone say Adolf Hitler had to save face? That we should proceed in a way that is not demeaning to Adolf Hitler? I have not heard such voices,” Duda said.

Putin first announced what he called a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24. He claimed that the operation aimed to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” Ukraine, whose president is Jewish.

Since the beginning of the war, Russian troops have killed a total of 4,452 civilians, including 280 children, according to recent estimates by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, the Kremlin has insisted that it is not targeting civilians in its air strikes.