Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on NATO “to rule out the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons”.
Moscow on Thursday castigated statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who spoke of NATO’s “pre-emptive strikes” against Russia, and then clarified that Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of pre-emptive sanctions and not of nuclear strikes. Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Thursday during a video conference with Australian think tank Lowy Institute. “What should NATO do? Eliminate the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. But above all, I appeal once again to the international community, as before February 24: pre-emptive strikes, so that they know what will happen to them if they use them,” the Ukrainian leader stated.
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“Monstrous and Unpredictable Consequences”
“Not the other way around, waiting for nuclear attacks from Russia so you can say, ‘Oh good, you’re doing that, so take that from us now!’ Check your way of applying pressure, that’s what NATO has to do, check your way of using it,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued. Following these statements, Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman Serguiï Nykyforov stated that these statements referred to pre-emptive sanctions that could be imposed before the February 24 offensive against Moscow, and not pre-emptive military strikes.
“The President spoke about the period before February 24th. Then it would have been necessary to take preventive measures not to allow Russia to start the war. I remind you that the only questionable measures at the time were sanctions,” he posted on Facebook, saying that Kyiv would “never” call for the use of nuclear weapons. Several senior Russian officials sharply criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statements on Thursday evening. “Such statements are nothing but a call to start a new world war with monstrous and unpredictable consequences,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.
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He called on the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union to respond to these statements, judging that these countries “de facto” led Kiev’s actions. Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, for her part, accused the West of “starting a nuclear war.” “Everyone on Earth needs to realize that this insane, weapon-packed character, Zelensky, this puppet, has turned into a monster capable of destroying the planet,” she wrote on Telegram.
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